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Western Union (WU) closed the latest trading day at $10.27, indicating a -1.63% change from the previous session's end. The stock fell short of the S&P 500, which registered a loss of 1.54% for the day. Elsewhere, the Dow lost 1.63%, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq lost 1.63%.
Heading into today, shares of the money transfer company had lost 4.22% over the past month, lagging the Business Services sector's loss of 3.87% and the S&P 500's loss of 2.2% in that time.
Analysts and investors alike will be keeping a close eye on the performance of Western Union in its upcoming earnings disclosure. The company is predicted to post an EPS of $0.42, indicating a 13.51% growth compared to the equivalent quarter last year. Meanwhile, our latest consensus estimate is calling for revenue of $1.03 billion, down 2.48% from the prior-year quarter.
It is also important to note the recent changes to analyst estimates for Western Union. These latest adjustments often mirror the shifting dynamics of short-term business patterns. Consequently, upward revisions in estimates express analysts' positivity towards the company's business operations and its ability to generate profits.
Research indicates that these estimate revisions are directly correlated with near-term share price momentum. To utilize this, we have created the Zacks Rank, a proprietary model that integrates these estimate changes and provides a functional rating system.
The Zacks Rank system, spanning from #1 (Strong Buy) to #5 (Strong Sell), boasts an impressive track record of outperformance, audited externally, with #1 ranked stocks yielding an average annual return of +25% since 1988. Over the past month, the Zacks Consensus EPS estimate has remained steady. Western Union is currently a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).
In the context of valuation, Western Union is at present trading with a Forward P/E ratio of 5.7. This indicates a discount in contrast to its industry's Forward P/E of 13.97.
We can additionally observe that WU currently boasts a PEG ratio of 1.41. 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 had an average PEG ratio of 1.2 as trading concluded yesterday.
The Financial Transaction Services industry is part of the Business Services sector. This group has a Zacks Industry Rank of 75, putting it in the top 30% 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.