Based on the aggregated intelligence of 180,000-plus investors participating in Motley Fool CAPS, the Fool's free investing community, money transfer giant Western Union(WU 0.73%) has earned a coveted five-star ranking.
With that in mind, let's take a closer look at Western Union and see what CAPS investors are saying about the stock right now.
Western Union facts
Headquarters (founded) |
Englewood, Colo. (1851) |
Market Cap |
$7.5 billion |
Industry |
Data processing and outsourced services |
Trailing-12-Month Revenue |
$5.7 billion |
Management |
CEO Hikmet Ersek (since 2010) |
Return on Capital (average, past 3 years) |
21.6% |
Cash/Debt |
$1.4 billion / $3.4 billion |
Dividend Yield |
4% |
Competitors |
American Express (AXP -0.79%)Moneygram International (MGI)PayPal |
On CAPS, 97% of the 1,582 members who have rated Western Union believe the stock will outperform the S&P 500 going forward.
Earlier this week, one of those Fools, yieldideas, tapped the stock as a particularly solid bargain opportunity:
Western Union is a cash flow machine and in addition to the recent lower guidance which took center stage, management announced another share repurchase program to total $750 [million] or 10% of market cap. Since 2006 it has bought back $4.6 [b]illion of its own shares. ... The money transfer business is just not going away and if [Western Union] as the largest player is facing additional costs, imagine the hardship the smaller competitors are dealing with and how their costs are affected.
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