Western Union (WU) stock falls amid market uptick: What investors need to know

Western Union (WU - Free Report) ended the recent trading session at $9.51, demonstrating a -1.86% change from the preceding day's closing price. The stock fell short of the S&P 500, which registered a gain of 0.16% for the day. On the other hand, the Dow registered a gain of 0.17%, and the technology-centric Nasdaq increased by 0.26%.

Coming into today, shares of the money transfer company had lost 1.22% in the past month. In that same time, the Business Services sector gained 3.4%, while the S&P 500 gained 1.89%.

The upcoming earnings release of Western Union will be of great interest to investors. It is anticipated that the company will report an EPS of $0.43, marking a 7.5% rise compared to the same quarter of the previous year. Meanwhile, the latest consensus estimate predicts the revenue to be $1.05 billion, indicating a 1.14% decrease compared to the same quarter of the previous year.

Regarding the entire year, the Zacks Consensus Estimates forecast earnings of $1.73 per share and revenue of $4.09 billion, indicating changes of -0.57% and 0%, respectively, compared to the previous year.

Investors should also take note of any recent adjustments to analyst estimates for Western Union. Such recent modifications usually signify the changing landscape of near-term business trends. Consequently, upward revisions in estimates express analysts' positivity towards the business operations and its ability to generate profits.

Our research suggests that these changes in estimates have a direct relationship with upcoming stock price performance. 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 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 last 30 days, the Zacks Consensus EPS estimate has remained unchanged. At present, Western Union boasts a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy).

From a valuation perspective, Western Union is currently exchanging hands at a Forward P/E ratio of 5.43. Its industry sports an average Forward P/E of 13.36, so one might conclude that Western Union is trading at a discount comparatively.

One should further note that WU currently holds a PEG ratio of 2.92. The PEG ratio is akin to the commonly utilized P/E ratio, but this measure also incorporates the company's anticipated earnings growth rate. The Financial Transaction Services was holding an average PEG ratio of 1 at yesterday's closing price.

The Financial Transaction Services industry is part of the Business Services sector. At present, this industry carries a Zacks Industry Rank of 182, placing it within the bottom 26% of over 250 industries.

The Zacks Industry Rank is ordered from best to worst in terms of the average Zacks Rank of the individual companies within each of these sectors. Our research shows that the top 50% rated industries outperform the bottom half by a factor of 2 to 1.

Ensure to harness Zacks.com to stay updated with all these stock-shifting metrics, among others, in the next trading sessions.