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Western Union (WU) Declines More Than Market: Some Information for Investors

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Western Union (WU - Free Report) closed the most recent trading day at $7.26, moving -3.07% from the previous trading session. This change lagged the S&P 500's 0.57% loss on the day. Meanwhile, the Dow gained 0.64%, and the Nasdaq, a tech-heavy index, lost 1.15%.

The money transfer company's stock has dropped by 11.47% in the past month, falling short of the Business Services sector's gain of 0.13% and the S&P 500's gain of 2.14%.

The investment community will be paying close attention to the earnings performance of Western Union in its upcoming release. The company's earnings per share (EPS) are projected to be $0.43, reflecting a 2.38% increase from the same quarter last year. Meanwhile, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for revenue is projecting net sales of $1.04 billion, up 1.51% from the year-ago period.

WU's full-year Zacks Consensus Estimates are calling for earnings of $1.76 per share and revenue of $4.26 billion. These results would represent year-over-year changes of +0.57% and +5.21%, respectively.

Investors should also note any recent changes to analyst estimates for Western Union. These revisions typically reflect the latest short-term business trends, which can change frequently. As such, positive estimate revisions reflect analyst optimism about the business and profitability.

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, 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. Within the past 30 days, our consensus EPS projection remained stagnant. Currently, Western Union is carrying a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold).

In terms of valuation, Western Union is currently trading at a Forward P/E ratio of 4.26. Its industry sports an average Forward P/E of 10.55, so one might conclude that Western Union is trading at a discount comparatively.

We can also see that WU currently has a PEG ratio of 0.96. Comparable to the widely accepted P/E ratio, the PEG ratio also accounts for the company's projected earnings growth. The Financial Transaction Services industry currently had an average PEG ratio of 0.77 as of yesterday's close.

The Financial Transaction Services industry is part of the Business Services sector. This group has a Zacks Industry Rank of 57, putting it in the top 24% of all 250+ industries.

The Zacks Industry Rank evaluates the power of our distinct industry groups by determining the average Zacks Rank of the individual stocks forming the groups. Our research shows that the top 50% rated industries outperform the bottom half by a factor of 2 to 1.

Make sure to utilize Zacks.com to follow all of these stock-moving metrics, and more, in the coming trading sessions.

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