Western Union (WU) closed the most recent trading day at $10.69, moving +0.47% from the previous trading session. The stock fell short of the S&P 500, which registered a gain of 1.12% for the day. Elsewhere, the Dow saw an upswing of 1.14%, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq appreciated by 1.46%.

Shares of the money transfer company witnessed a gain of 2.5% over the previous month, beating the performance of the Business Services sector with its loss of 3.31% and the S&P 500's loss of 4.13%.

Market participants will be closely following the financial results of Western Union in its upcoming release. The company is forecasted to report an EPS of $0.44, showcasing a 2.22% downward movement from the corresponding quarter of the prior year. At the same time, our most recent consensus estimate is projecting a revenue of $1.01 billion, reflecting a 3.75% fall from the equivalent quarter last year.

For the full year, the Zacks Consensus Estimates are projecting earnings of $1.79 per share and revenue of $4.14 billion, which would represent changes of +2.87% and -1.75%, respectively, from the prior year.

It is also important to note the recent changes to analyst estimates for Western Union. These latest adjustments often mirror the shifting dynamics of short-term business patterns. As such, positive estimate revisions reflect analyst optimism about the company's business and profitability.

Our research reveals that these estimate alterations are directly linked with the stock price performance in the near future. 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, 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 has moved 2.16% lower. Western Union is holding a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold) right now.

In the context of valuation, Western Union is at present trading with a Forward P/E ratio of 5.94. This valuation marks a discount compared to its industry's average Forward P/E of 14.48.

We can additionally observe that WU currently boasts a PEG ratio of 1.3. The PEG ratio is similar to the widely-used P/E ratio, but this metric also takes the company's expected earnings growth rate into account. As of the close of trade yesterday, the Financial Transaction Services industry held an average PEG ratio of 1.45.

The Financial Transaction Services industry is part of the Business Services sector. With its current Zacks Industry Rank of 88, this industry ranks in the top 36% of all industries, numbering over 250.

The Zacks Industry Rank assesses the strength of our separate industry groups by calculating the average Zacks Rank of the individual stocks contained within the groups. Our research shows that the top 50% rated industries outperform the bottom half by a factor of 2 to 1.

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This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).

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