In the latest trading session, MasterCard (MA) closed at $271, marking a -0.21% move from the previous day. This move was narrower than the S&P 500’s daily loss of 1.23%. Meanwhile, the Dow lost 1.28%, and the Nasdaq, a tech-heavy index, lost 1.13%.
Coming into today, shares of the processor of debit and credit card payments had lost 3.48% in the past month. In that same time, the Business Services sector lost 2.73%, while the S&P 500 gained 1.95%.
Investors will be hoping for strength from MA as it approaches its next earnings release, which is expected to be October 29, 2019. On that day, MA is projected to report earnings of $2.01 per share, which would represent year-over-year growth of 12.92%. Our most recent consensus estimate is calling for quarterly revenue of $4.42 billion, up 13.5% from the year-ago period.
Looking at the full year, our Zacks Consensus Estimates suggest analysts are expecting earnings of $7.61 per share and revenue of $16.81 billion. These totals would mark changes of +17.26% and +12.44%, respectively, from last year.
Any recent changes to analyst estimates for MA should also be noted by investors. These revisions typically reflect the latest short-term business trends, which can change frequently. With this in mind, we can consider positive estimate revisions a sign of optimism about the company’s business outlook.
Based on our research, we believe these estimate revisions are directly related to near-team stock moves. Investors can capitalize on this by using the Zacks Rank. This model considers these estimate changes and provides a simple, actionable rating system.
The Zacks Rank system ranges from #1 (Strong Buy) to #5 (Strong Sell). It has a remarkable, outside-audited track record of success, with #1 stocks delivering an average annual return of +25% since 1988. Over the past month, the Zacks Consensus EPS estimate has moved 0.02% higher. MA currently has a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold).
Valuation is also important, so investors should note that MA has a Forward P/E ratio of 35.69 right now. This represents a premium compared to its industry’s average Forward P/E of 24.47.
It is also worth noting that MA currently has a PEG ratio of 2.25. This metric is used similarly to the famous P/E ratio, but the PEG ratio also takes into account the stock’s expected earnings growth rate. The Financial Transaction Services was holding an average PEG ratio of 1.57 at yesterday’s closing price.
The Financial Transaction Services industry is part of the Business Services sector. This group has a Zacks Industry Rank of 107, putting it in the top 42% of all 250+ industries.
The Zacks Industry Rank gauges the strength of our individual industry groups by measuring the average Zacks Rank of the individual stocks within the groups. Our research shows that the top 50% rated industries outperform the bottom half by a factor of 2 to 1.
Be sure to follow all of these stock-moving metrics, and many more, on Zacks.com.
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