Wednesday, April 17, 2013

Why Western Union Will Keep Crawling Back

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 (NYSE: WU  ) has earned a respected four-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

Englewood, Colo. (1851)

Market Cap

$8.5 billion

Industry

Data processing and outsourced services

Trailing-12-Month Revenue

$5.7 billion

Management

CEO Hikmet Ersek (since 2010)
CFO Scott Scheirman (since 2006)

Return on Capital (average, past 3 years)

21.2%

Cash / Debt

$1.8 billion / $4.0 billion

Dividend Yield

3.3%

Competitors

American Express
Moneygram International

Sources: S&P Capital IQ and Motley Fool CAPS.

On CAPS, 97% of the 1,641 members who have rated Western Union believe the stock will outperform the S&P 500 going forward.

Earlier this week, one of those Fools, compustat, succinctly summed up the Western Union bull case for our community:

[Western Union] has a admirable competitive advantage that is derived from its business model that takes full advantage of the network effect. As the company ties up loose ends regarding its misstep in Mexico and regulatory issues play out, this stock will be back on track. Very cheap valuation given its future prospects and sustainable moat.

If you want market-thumping returns, you need to put together the best portfolio you can. Of course, despite a strong four-star rating, Western Union may not be your top choice.

We've found another stock we are incredibly excited about -- excited enough to dub it "The Motley Fool's Top Stock for 2013." We have compiled a special free report for investors to uncover this stock today. The report is 100% free, but it won't be here forever, so click here to access it now.

Want to see how well (or not so well) the stocks in this series are performing? Follow the TrackPoisedTo CAPS account.

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