Why Western Union Stock Bounced 4% Higher Today

A pair of shareholder-pleasing measures announced after market close Friday were powering the stock of Western Union (WU 4.00%) higher on Monday. Focused on news of a hefty share buyback program announced by the company, investors piled into the stock, boosting its price by 4% on the first trading day of the new week. That was more than good enough to beat the 0.4% rise of the S&P 500 (^GSPC 0.38%).

Of share buybacks and dividend payouts

Western Union’s board of directors has authorized a $1 billion common stock repurchase initiative that has no set expiration date. In announcing the program, the company said that the amount and timing of its buys will depend on the usual variety of factors, including but not limited to price and securities market conditions.

Over the years, Western Union has actively repurchased its own stock. In 2023, it spent roughly $308 million on the activity; from 2018 to that year, its annual purchasing ranged from $240 million to $553 million.

In addition to the fresh buyback program, the company declared its latest common stock quarterly dividend. It is to pay just under $0.24 per share on Dec. 31 to investors of record as of next Monday, Dec. 23. While the news is welcome, it certainly isn’t unexpected; Western Union has doled out that amount every quarter since the beginning of 2021. That said, at the most recent closing price, it yields a relatively high 8.7%.

Cash on hand

One of the surest ways to win an investor’s heart is to keep up the pace of dividend payouts and share buybacks, so mission accomplished for Western Union. The company manages its cash resources rather conservatively, with free cash flow (FCF) generally sufficient to cover most or all of its expenditures in the two activities.