Updating WESTERN UNION CO., NORDSTROM INC. and AMEREN CORP.

Article Excerpt

WESTERN UNION CO. $20 (New York symbol WU; Aggressive Growth Portfolio, Finance sector; Shares outstanding: 701.6 million; Market cap: $14 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 2.8; WSSF Rating: Above Average) has provided money-transfer services to Cuba since 1999. Cubans living in the U.S. can send money to close relatives in Cuba at over 3,000 of Western Union’s U.S. locations. The company also has 100 locations in Cuba. Western Union should benefit from new rules that have removed limits on the amount and frequency of transfers. Western Union is a buy. NORDSTROM INC. $31 (New York symbol JWN; Aggressive Growth Portfolio, Consumer sector; Shares outstanding: 216.8 million; Market cap: $6.7 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 0.8; WSSF Rating: Average) earned $0.48 a share in its second quarter, which ended August 1, 2009. That’s down 26.2% from $0.65 a year earlier. Sales fell 6.2%, to $2.1 billion from $2.3 billion. On a same-store basis, sales fell 12.3%. However, that’s an improvement over the 16.5% same-store sales drop in the…