Western Union (WU) closed the most recent trading day at $9.52, moving +1.6% from the previous trading session. The stock exceeded the S&P 500, which registered a gain of 0.54% for the day. At the same time, the Dow added 1.05%, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq gained 0.56%.
Heading into today, shares of the money transfer company had gained 1.52% over the past month, outpacing the Business Services sector's loss of 6.48% and the S&P 500's gain of 0.74%.
The investment community will be closely monitoring the performance of Western Union in its forthcoming earnings report. The company is scheduled to release its earnings on February 20, 2026. On that day, Western Union is projected to report earnings of $0.43 per share, which would represent year-over-year growth of 7.5%. Meanwhile, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for revenue is projecting net sales of $1.04 billion, down 2.11% from the year-ago period.
For the full year, the Zacks Consensus Estimates are projecting earnings of $1.73 per share and revenue of $4.08 billion, which would represent changes of -0.57% and 0%, respectively, from the prior year.
Investors should also note any recent changes to analyst estimates for Western Union. Recent revisions tend to reflect the latest near-term business trends. Therefore, positive revisions in estimates convey analysts' confidence in the business performance and profit potential.
Based on our research, we believe these estimate revisions are directly related to near-term stock moves. 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 a 0.73% rise in the Zacks Consensus EPS estimate. Western Union is currently a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).
Looking at valuation, Western Union is presently trading at a Forward P/E ratio of 5.21. This represents a discount compared to its industry average Forward P/E of 11.1.
Also, we should mention that WU has a PEG ratio of 3. The PEG ratio bears resemblance to the frequently used P/E ratio, but this parameter also includes the company's expected earnings growth trajectory. As of the close of trade yesterday, the Financial Transaction Services industry held an average PEG ratio of 0.94.
The Financial Transaction Services industry is part of the Business Services sector. At present, this industry carries a Zacks Industry Rank of 183, placing it within the bottom 26% of over 250 industries.
The Zacks Industry Rank gauges the strength of our individual industry groups by measuring the average Zacks Rank of the individual stocks within the groups. Our research shows that the top 50% rated industries outperform the bottom half by a factor of 2 to 1.
Don't forget to use Zacks.com to keep track of all these stock-moving metrics, and others, in 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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