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In the latest market close, Western Union (WU) reached $10.49, with a -1.41% movement compared to the previous day. This change lagged the S&P 500's 1.77% gain on the day. Meanwhile, the Dow experienced a rise of 1.42%, and the technology-dominated Nasdaq saw an increase of 2.28%.
Shares of the money transfer company witnessed a loss of 0.19% over the previous month, beating the performance of the Business Services sector with its loss of 7.87% and the S&P 500's loss of 5.73%.
Analysts and investors alike will be keeping a close eye on the performance of Western Union in its upcoming earnings disclosure. In that report, analysts expect Western Union to post earnings of $0.44 per share. This would mark a year-over-year decline of 2.22%. Simultaneously, our latest consensus estimate expects the revenue to be $1.01 billion, showing a 3.75% drop compared to the year-ago quarter.
For the entire fiscal year, the Zacks Consensus Estimates are projecting earnings of $1.79 per share and a revenue of $4.14 billion, representing changes of +2.87% and -1.75%, respectively, from the prior year.
Investors should also take note of any recent adjustments to analyst estimates for Western Union. Recent revisions tend to reflect the latest near-term business trends. As a result, upbeat changes in estimates indicate analysts' favorable outlook on the company's business health and profitability.
Our research shows that these estimate changes are directly correlated with near-term stock prices. To benefit from this, we have developed the Zacks Rank, a proprietary model which takes these estimate changes into account and provides an actionable rating system.
The Zacks Rank system ranges from #1 (Strong Buy) to #5 (Strong Sell). It has a remarkable, outside-audited track record of success, with #1 stocks delivering an average annual return of +25% since 1988. Over the past month, the Zacks Consensus EPS estimate has remained steady. Western Union is holding a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold) right now.
Looking at valuation, Western Union is presently trading at a Forward P/E ratio of 5.94. For comparison, its industry has an average Forward P/E of 15.25, 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 1.3. Comparable to the widely accepted P/E ratio, the PEG ratio also accounts for the company's projected earnings growth. By the end of yesterday's trading, the Financial Transaction Services industry had an average PEG ratio of 1.41.
The Financial Transaction Services industry is part of the Business Services sector. Currently, this industry holds a Zacks Industry Rank of 133, positioning it in the bottom 48% of all 250+ industries.