Yahoo Finance Western Union (WU) Stock Sinks As Market Gains: Here's Why
Western Union (WU) closed the latest trading day at $12.26, indicating a -1.13% change from the previous session's end. This change lagged the S&P 500's daily gain of 0.09%. Meanwhile, the Dow experienced a drop of 0.1%, and the technology-dominated Nasdaq saw an increase of 0.16%.
The money transfer company's shares have seen a decrease of 3.5% over the last month, not keeping up with the Business Services sector's gain of 1.04% and the S&P 500's gain of 2.83%.
Investors will be eagerly watching for the performance of Western Union in its upcoming earnings disclosure. The company is forecasted to report an EPS of $0.44, showcasing a 13.73% downward movement from the corresponding quarter of the prior year. Meanwhile, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for revenue is projecting net sales of $1.06 billion, down 9.37% from the year-ago period.
In terms of the entire fiscal year, the Zacks Consensus Estimates predict earnings of $1.76 per share and a revenue of $4.17 billion, indicating changes of +1.15% and -4.21%, respectively, from the former 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. Hence, positive alterations in estimates signify analyst optimism regarding the company's business and profitability.
Our research shows that these estimate changes are directly correlated with near-term stock prices. To capitalize on this, we've crafted the Zacks Rank, a unique model that incorporates these estimate changes and offers a practical 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 last 30 days, the Zacks Consensus EPS estimate has witnessed an unchanged state. Western Union is holding a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold) right now.
Valuation is also important, so investors should note that Western Union has a Forward P/E ratio of 7.05 right now. This expresses a discount compared to the average Forward P/E of 14.96 of its industry.
Meanwhile, WU's PEG ratio is currently 1.8. 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. By the end of yesterday's trading, the Financial Transaction Services industry had an average PEG ratio of 0.97.
The Financial Transaction Services industry is part of the Business Services sector. This industry currently has a Zacks Industry Rank of 63, which puts it in the top 25% 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.
Keep in mind to rely on Zacks.com to watch all these stock-impacting metrics, and more, in the succeeding trading sessions.
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The Western Union Company (WU) : Free Stock Analysis Report
