The Western Union Company (WU)

Summary

• The stock appears to be inexpensively valued based on 2015 earnings estimates.
• The stock sports a 3% dividend yield and has quite a bit of room to grow the dividend as it only pays out 35% of trailing earnings.
• Thought he company appears to be inexpensive and carries a great yield, I'm not totally sold on the name and will take a pass.

Summary

• I was both peeved and felt a renewed sense of appreciation for our securities regulatory scheme reading last week that the SEC was investigating Western Union for possible securities fraud.
• Some Western Union former employees beefed to SEC officials, it was reported, that something untoward was occurring in the calculation of Western Union's digital revenues.
• Even if there are no significant clarifications or restatements required, the company's silence is disturbing.

Summary

• Screening all S&P 500 stocks that pay a dividend with higher than 2% yield according to their average dividend growth rate for the last five years.
• Description and a buy recommendation for the fourth-ranked stock; Western Union.
• WU's stock is trading at a discount, according to its historical valuation multiples.

Summary

• Western Union has had spotty performance for the past few years, causing it to fall in value relative to the broader market;
• The company has several promising opportunities in the digital realm and emerging markets that appear to be improving with time;
• Western Union appears to be a good value by several measures, and if you believe that the company's investments in compliance and digital will pay off, it is a buy.

Summary

• Unlike Western Union, Wal-Mart's new money transfer offering is a national service, not a global one.
• There are significant barriers to taking Wal-Mart's new service beyond the shores of the United States.
• Wal-Mart's new service is just the latest in a series of perceived threats to Western Union that are overblown.