In the latest trading session, MasterCard (MA) closed at $566.28, marking a -1.61% move from the previous day. This change lagged the S&P 500's 0.16% gain on the day. Meanwhile, the Dow experienced a rise of 0.17%, and the technology-dominated Nasdaq saw an increase of 0.26%.
Prior to today's trading, shares of the processor of debit and credit card payments had gained 0.63% lagged the Business Services sector's gain of 3.4% and the S&P 500's gain of 1.89%.
Market participants will be closely following the financial results of MasterCard in its upcoming release. In that report, analysts expect MasterCard to post earnings of $4.21 per share. This would mark year-over-year growth of 10.21%. Simultaneously, our latest consensus estimate expects the revenue to be $8.77 billion, showing a 17.05% escalation compared to the year-ago quarter.
MA's full-year Zacks Consensus Estimates are calling for earnings of $16.43 per share and revenue of $32.75 billion. These results would represent year-over-year changes of +12.53% and 0%, respectively.
Any recent changes to analyst estimates for MasterCard should also be noted by investors. Such recent modifications usually signify the changing landscape of near-term business trends. Consequently, upward revisions in estimates express analysts' positivity towards the business operations and its ability to generate profits.
Empirical research indicates that these revisions in estimates have a direct correlation with impending stock price performance. 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, which ranges from #1 (Strong Buy) to #5 (Strong Sell), has an impressive outside-audited track record of outperformance, with #1 stocks generating an average annual return of +25% since 1988. Over the past month, the Zacks Consensus EPS estimate remained stagnant. MasterCard presently features a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold).
In the context of valuation, MasterCard is at present trading with a Forward P/E ratio of 30.24. This represents a premium compared to its industry average Forward P/E of 13.36.
Also, we should mention that MA has a PEG ratio of 1.95. The PEG ratio is similar to the widely-used P/E ratio, but this metric also takes the company's expected earnings growth rate into account. As the market closed yesterday, the Financial Transaction Services industry was having an average PEG ratio of 1.
The Financial Transaction Services industry is part of the Business Services sector. This industry currently has a Zacks Industry Rank of 182, which puts it in the bottom 26% of all 250+ industries.
The Zacks Industry Rank gauges the strength of our 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.
To follow MA in the coming trading sessions, be sure to utilize Zacks.com.
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
Mastercard Incorporated (MA): Free Stock Analysis ReportThis article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).
Zacks Investment Research
