Cost cuts boost Western Union’s earnings

Article Excerpt

WESTERN UNION CO. $18 (New York symbol WU; Conservative Growth Portfolio, Finance sector; Shares outstanding: 656.2 million; Market cap: $11.8 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 2.4; Dividend yield: 1.3%; WSSF Rating: Above Average) earned $0.38 a share in the three months ended September 30, 2010. That’s up 15.2% from $0.33 a year earlier. The latest results exclude costs to reorganize Western Union’s money transfer and payments business. This plan cut the company’s expenses by 5% in the latest quarter. Revenue rose 1.3%, to $1.33 billion from $1.31 billion. The company should earn $1.38 a share in 2010. The stock trades at 13.0 times that figure. Western Union is a buy. buy…