The most recent trading session ended with Western Union (WU – Free Report) standing at $10.60, reflecting a +0.28% shift from the previouse trading day’s closing. This move outpaced the S&P 500’s daily loss of 0.43%. Meanwhile, the Dow lost 0.07%, and the Nasdaq, a tech-heavy index, lost 0.9%.
Shares of the money transfer company have depreciated by 4.69% over the course of the past month, underperforming the Business Services sector’s loss of 4.14% and the S&P 500’s loss of 1.98%.
The investment community will be paying close attention to the earnings performance of Western Union in its upcoming release. The company’s earnings per share (EPS) are projected to be $0.42, reflecting a 13.51% increase from the same quarter last year. Meanwhile, our latest consensus estimate is calling for revenue of $1.03 billion, down 2.48% from the prior-year quarter.
For the entire fiscal year, the Zacks Consensus Estimates are projecting earnings of $1.77 per share and a revenue of $4.18 billion, representing changes of +1.72% and -4.11%, respectively, from the prior year.
Investors should also note any recent changes to analyst estimates for Western Union. These recent revisions tend to reflect the evolving nature of short-term business trends. With this in mind, we can consider positive estimate revisions a sign of optimism about the company’s business outlook.
Our research demonstrates that these adjustments in estimates directly associate with imminent 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, which ranges from #1 (Strong Buy) to #5 (Strong Sell), has an impressive outside-audited track record of outperformance, with #1 stocks generating an average annual return of +25% since 1988. Over the past month, there’s been no change in the Zacks Consensus EPS estimate. Western Union presently features a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold).
Valuation is also important, so investors should note that Western Union has a Forward P/E ratio of 5.98 right now. This denotes a discount relative to the industry’s average Forward P/E of 15.43.
Also, we should mention that WU has a PEG ratio of 1.48. The PEG ratio bears resemblance to the frequently used P/E ratio, but this parameter also includes the company’s expected earnings growth trajectory. By the end of yesterday’s trading, the Financial Transaction Services industry had an average PEG ratio of 1.28.
The Financial Transaction Services industry is part of the Business Services sector. This industry currently has a Zacks Industry Rank of 83, which puts it in the top 34% of all 250+ industries.
The Zacks Industry Rank assesses the strength of our separate industry groups by calculating the average Zacks Rank of the individual stocks contained within the groups. Our research shows that the top 50% rated industries outperform the bottom half by a factor of 2 to 1.
Ensure to harness Zacks.com to stay updated with all these stock-shifting metrics, among others, in the next trading sessions.
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