WESTERN UNION CO. $17 (New York symbol WU; Aggressive Growth Portfolio, Finance sector; Shares outstanding: 682.8 million; Market cap: $11.6 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 2.3; Dividend yield: 1.4%; WSSF Rating: Above Average) provides money-transfer and foreign-exchange services in over 200 countries.
The company recently completed a restructuring that included closing some outlets and outsourcing certain administrative functions. These moves should save it $40 million a year.
If you exclude unusual costs, Western Union earned $902.7 million in 2009. That’s down 7.0% from $970.6 million in 2008. The company spent $400 million on share buybacks during the year. Since it had fewer shares outstanding, its earnings per share fell just 1.5%, to $1.29 from $1.31.
The company’s 2009 revenue fell 3.8%, to $5.1billion from $5.3 billion. Without the negative impact of foreign-exchange rates, however, revenue would have fallen by just 1%.
Western Union’s long-term outlook remains bright. That’s because demand for money transfers will rise as the global economy strengthens. As well, the company plans to buy back $1 billion of its shares over the next three years. The stock trades at 12.9 times the $1.32 a share that Western Union will probably earn in 2010.
Western Union is a buy.
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