In the latest close session, Western Union (WU) was up +2.03% at $8.04. This move outpaced the S&P 500's daily gain of 0.38%. Meanwhile, the Dow gained 0.29%, and the Nasdaq, a tech-heavy index, added 0.62%.
Prior to today's trading, shares of the money transfer company had gained 8.54% outpaced the Business Services sector's gain of 3.36% and the S&P 500's gain of 1.61%.
The investment community will be paying close attention to the earnings performance of Western Union in its upcoming release. In that report, analysts expect Western Union to post earnings of $0.43 per share. This would mark year-over-year growth of 2.38%. Meanwhile, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for revenue is projecting net sales of $1.02 billion, down 0.85% from the year-ago period.
In terms of the entire fiscal year, the Zacks Consensus Estimates predict earnings of $1.75 per share and a revenue of $4.2 billion, indicating changes of 0% and +3.73%, respectively, from the former year.
Investors should also pay attention to any latest changes in analyst estimates for Western Union. These revisions typically reflect the latest short-term business trends, which can change frequently. Hence, positive alterations in estimates signify analyst optimism regarding the business and profitability.
Our research reveals that these estimate alterations are directly linked with the stock price performance in the near future. To benefit from this, we have developed the Zacks Rank, a proprietary model which takes these estimate changes into account and provides an actionable rating system.
The Zacks Rank system ranges from #1 (Strong Buy) to #5 (Strong Sell). It has a remarkable, outside-audited track record of success, with #1 stocks delivering an average annual return of +25% since 1988. Within the past 30 days, our consensus EPS projection has moved 0.66% lower. Western Union is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #4 (Sell).
In terms of valuation, Western Union is presently being traded at a Forward P/E ratio of 4.51. This represents a discount compared to its industry average Forward P/E of 10.43.
One should further note that WU currently holds a PEG ratio of 1.01. The PEG ratio bears resemblance to the frequently used P/E ratio, but this parameter also includes the company's expected earnings growth trajectory. The Financial Transaction Services industry currently had an average PEG ratio of 0.84 as of yesterday's close.
The Financial Transaction Services industry is part of the Business Services sector. Currently, this industry holds a Zacks Industry Rank of 67, positioning it in the top 28% of all 250+ industries.
The strength of our individual industry groups is measured by the Zacks Industry Rank, which is calculated based on the average Zacks Rank of the individual stocks within these groups. Our research shows that the top 50% rated industries outperform the bottom half by a factor of 2 to 1.
Keep in mind to rely on Zacks.com to watch all these stock-impacting metrics, and more, in the succeeding trading sessions.
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The Western Union Company (WU): Free Stock Analysis Report
This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).