The most recent trading session ended with Western Union (WU) standing at $10.50, reflecting a -1.22% shift from the previouse trading day's closing. The stock outperformed the S&P 500, which registered a daily loss of 4.84%. At the same time, the Dow lost 3.98%, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq lost 5.97%.
Shares of the money transfer company witnessed a loss of 0.56% over the previous month, beating the performance of the Business Services sector with its loss of 2.87% and the S&P 500's loss of 4.7%.
The upcoming earnings release of Western Union will be of great interest to investors. The company is forecasted to report an EPS of $0.42, showcasing a 6.67% downward movement from the corresponding quarter of the prior year. Alongside, our most recent consensus estimate is anticipating revenue of $1 billion, indicating a 4.6% downward movement from the same quarter last year.
For the annual period, the Zacks Consensus Estimates anticipate earnings of $1.78 per share and a revenue of $4.13 billion, signifying shifts of +2.3% and -1.95%, respectively, from the last year.
Any recent changes to analyst estimates for Western Union should also be noted by investors. These latest adjustments often mirror the shifting dynamics of short-term business patterns. Therefore, positive revisions in estimates convey analysts' confidence in the company's business performance and profit potential.
Our research suggests that these changes in estimates have a direct relationship with upcoming 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 witnessed a 0.4% decrease. Western Union currently has a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold).
Digging into valuation, Western Union currently has a Forward P/E ratio of 5.96. For comparison, its industry has an average Forward P/E of 15.36, which means Western Union is trading at a discount to the group.
It is also worth noting that WU currently has a PEG ratio of 1.31. This popular metric is similar to the widely-known P/E ratio, with the difference being that the PEG ratio also takes into account the company's expected earnings growth rate. WU's industry had an average PEG ratio of 1.46 as of yesterday's close.
The Financial Transaction Services industry is part of the Business Services sector. This industry, currently bearing a Zacks Industry Rank of 136, finds itself in the bottom 46% echelons of all 250+ industries.
The Zacks Industry Rank assesses the vigor of our specific industry groups by computing the average Zacks Rank of the individual stocks incorporated in the groups. Our research shows that the top 50% rated industries outperform the bottom half by a factor of 2 to 1.
Remember to apply Zacks.com to follow these and more stock-moving metrics during the upcoming trading sessions.
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The Western Union Company (WU): Free Stock Analysis ReportThis article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).
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