Western Union (WU) laps the stock market: Here's why

In the latest close session, Western Union (WU) was up +2.17% at $9.43. This move outpaced the S&P 500's daily gain of 0.64%. Meanwhile, the Dow gained 1.23%, and the Nasdaq, a tech-heavy index, added 0.69%.

Coming into today, shares of the money transfer company had gained 2.1% in the past month. In that same time, the Business Services sector gained 1.24%, while the S&P 500 gained 0.55%.

The investment community will be paying close attention to the earnings performance of Western Union in its upcoming release. The company is expected to report EPS of $0.43, up 7.5% from the prior-year quarter. Alongside, our most recent consensus estimate is anticipating revenue of $1.05 billion, indicating a 1.14% downward movement from the same quarter last year.

WU's full-year Zacks Consensus Estimates are calling for earnings of $1.73 per share and revenue of $4.09 billion. These results would represent year-over-year changes of -0.57% and 0%, respectively.

Investors should also pay attention to any latest changes in 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 business and profitability.

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, running from #1 (Strong Buy) to #5 (Strong Sell), holds an admirable track record of superior performance, independently audited, with #1 stocks contributing 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 currently has a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold).

With respect to valuation, Western Union is currently being traded at a Forward P/E ratio of 5.17. This represents a discount compared to its industry average Forward P/E of 12.55.

One should further note that WU currently holds a PEG ratio of 2.78. The PEG ratio bears resemblance to the frequently used P/E ratio, but this parameter also includes the company's expected earnings growth trajectory. WU's industry had an average PEG ratio of 0.92 as of yesterday's close.

The Financial Transaction Services industry is part of the Business Services sector. This industry currently has a Zacks Industry Rank of 198, which puts it in the bottom 20% 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.