In the latest trading session, Western Union (WU) closed at $7.63, marking a +1.19% move from the previous day. This change outpaced the S&P 500's 1.18% gain on the day. Meanwhile, the Dow gained 0.59%, and the Nasdaq, a tech-heavy index, added 2.07%.
The stock of money transfer company has fallen by 7.26% in the past month, lagging the Business Services sector's loss of 0.5% and the S&P 500's loss of 2.9%.
Investors will be eagerly watching for the performance of Western Union in its upcoming earnings disclosure. The company is expected to report EPS of $0.43, up 2.38% from the prior-year quarter. Meanwhile, our latest consensus estimate is calling for revenue of $1.04 billion, up 1.51% from the prior-year quarter.
Regarding the entire year, the Zacks Consensus Estimates forecast earnings of $1.76 per share and revenue of $4.26 billion, indicating changes of +0.57% and +5.21%, respectively, compared to the previous year.
Investors might also notice recent changes to analyst estimates for Western Union. Such recent modifications usually signify the changing landscape of near-term business trends. As a result, we can interpret positive estimate revisions as a good sign for the business outlook.
Empirical research indicates that these revisions in estimates have a direct correlation with impending stock price performance. To take advantage of this, we've established the Zacks Rank, an exclusive model that considers these estimated changes and delivers an operational rating system.
The Zacks Rank system, ranging from #1 (Strong Buy) to #5 (Strong Sell), possesses a remarkable history of outdoing, externally audited, with #1 stocks returning an average annual gain of +25% since 1988. Over the last 30 days, the Zacks Consensus EPS estimate has remained unchanged. At present, Western Union boasts a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold).
Investors should also note Western Union's current valuation metrics, including its Forward P/E ratio of 4.29. This represents a discount compared to its industry average Forward P/E of 10.02.
One should further note that WU currently holds a PEG ratio of 0.96. This metric is used similarly to the famous P/E ratio, but the PEG ratio also takes into account the stock's expected earnings growth rate. The Financial Transaction Services industry had an average PEG ratio of 0.78 as trading concluded yesterday.
The Financial Transaction Services industry is part of the Business Services sector. This group has a Zacks Industry Rank of 67, putting it in the top 28% of all 250+ industries.
The Zacks Industry Rank evaluates the power of our distinct industry groups by determining the average Zacks Rank of the individual stocks forming the groups. Our research shows that the top 50% rated industries outperform the bottom half by a factor of 2 to 1.
Be sure to follow all of these stock-moving metrics, and many more, on Zacks.com.
Beyond Nvidia: AI's Second Wave Is Here
The AI revolution has already minted millionaires. But the stocks everyone knows about aren't likely to keep delivering the biggest profits. AI’s second wave is moving from infrastructure to implementation and these companies are at the forefront of this transition, positioned to become what Amazon and Google were to the internet era.
See Stocks Now >>Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report
The Western Union Company (WU): Free Stock Analysis Report
This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).