Western Union (WU) Unveils First Ever Concept Store in Jordan
The Western Union Company WU recently collaborated with Al Sadat & Al Hindi Exchange to introduce its first concept store across Jordan. A concept store provides access to personalized, safe and seamless money transfer services in a high-traffic area. WU currently has 70-plus such stores located worldwide.
The new hub in Jordan will be situated in Industrial City of Sahab and aims to cater to the worker community belonging from Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, India, Pakistan, Myanmar, Nepal, Egypt and Syria. As consumers of the Middle East region desire to be equipped with the flexibility to choose between in-person and digital channels while sending and receiving money, the idea of Western Union to open the concept store in one of the region’s countries seems to be time opportune.
The latest move reflects Western Union’s sincere efforts to take into consideration the preferences as well as requirements of consumers and subsequently, provide accelerated and varied money transfer choices across Jordan. Such efforts also provide an opportunity to the money transfer services provider to widen its customer base and bring higher money transfer revenues through increased utilization of its services. Money transfer revenues remain the most significant contributor to WU’s top line.
Concept stores are also a means of Western Union’s growth-related investments as they usually boost its worldwide retail presence. It has an extensive network of retail locations stretched across 200-plus countries and territories. This year, concept stores were also launched by Western Union in Italy and Spain, probably as an effort to strengthen its retail presence throughout Europe.
Western Union remains steadfast in establishing a solid footprint in Jordan and the recent partnership only bears testament to the same. The reason behind its intensified focus on the Middle East nation follows the fact that remittances in Jordan witnessed a 5.9% year-over-year improvement in June 2023, according to the Central Bank of Jordan. Therefore, WU can capitalize on the remittance growth potential of the country by providing a convenient access to enhanced money transfer services.
A solid cross-border money transfer platform built on the back of several partnerships and significant investments enables Western Union in bringing about seamless money movement to and from any corner of the world. It leaves no stone unturned to collaborate with retail chains or financial services providers with an aim to further fortify its worldwide network. Apart from a broad network of retail locations, consumers can also engage in speedy money transfer services through the Western Union app.
Shares of Western Union have gained 11.5% in the past six months compared with the industry’s 10.1% growth. WU currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
Stocks to Consider
Some better-ranked stocks in the Business Services space are Huron Consulting Group Inc. HURN, PagSeguro Digital Ltd. PAGS and Verisk Analytics, Inc. VRSK. While Huron Consulting sports a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), PagSeguro Digital and Verisk Analytics carry a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.
The bottom line of Huron Consulting outpaced estimates in each of the last four quarters, the average surprise being 21.75%. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for HURN’s 2023 earnings suggests an improvement of 31.8% from the year-ago reported figure. The consensus mark for revenues suggests growth of 17% from the year-ago reported number. The consensus mark for HURN’s 2023 earnings has moved 9.4% north in the past 60 days.
PagSeguro Digital’s earnings outpaced estimates in each of the trailing four quarters, the average surprise being 9.30%. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for PAGS’s 2023 earnings suggests an improvement of 13% from the year-ago reported figure. The consensus mark for revenues also suggests growth of 3.6% from the prior-year reading. The consensus mark for PAGS’s 2023 earnings has moved 1% north in the past 30 days.
The bottom line of Verisk Analytics outpaced estimates in three of the last four quarters and matched the mark once, the average surprise being 9.85%. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for VRSK’s 2023 earnings suggests an improvement of 14% from the year-ago reported figure. The consensus mark for VRSK’s 2023 earnings has moved 0.4% north in the past 30 days.
Shares of Huron Consulting and Verisk Analytics have gained 27.7% and 34%, respectively, in the past six months. However, the PagSeguro Digital stock has lost 2.2% in the same time frame.
Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report
The Western Union Company (WU) : Free Stock Analysis Report
Huron Consulting Group Inc. (HURN) : Free Stock Analysis Report
Verisk Analytics, Inc. (VRSK) : Free Stock Analysis Report
PagSeguro Digital Ltd. (PAGS) : Free Stock Analysis Report
