The most recent trading session ended with MasterCard (MA) standing at $528.06, reflecting a +0.64% shift from the previouse trading day's closing. This change lagged the S&P 500's 0.88% gain on the day. At the same time, the Dow added 1.24%, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq gained 0.65%.
Coming into today, shares of the processor of debit and credit card payments had lost 0.81% in the past month. In that same time, the Business Services sector gained 0.03%, while the S&P 500 gained 1.17%.
The investment community will be paying close attention to the earnings performance of MasterCard in its upcoming release. The company is slated to reveal its earnings on January 30, 2025. The company's earnings per share (EPS) are projected to be $3.69, reflecting a 16.04% increase from the same quarter last year. Alongside, our most recent consensus estimate is anticipating revenue of $7.38 billion, indicating a 12.75% upward movement from the same quarter last year.
Investors should also pay attention to any latest changes in analyst estimates for MasterCard. Recent revisions tend to reflect the latest near-term business trends. Consequently, upward revisions in estimates express analysts' positivity towards the company's 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. To take advantage of this, we've established the Zacks Rank, an exclusive model that considers these estimated changes and delivers an operational rating system.
Ranging from #1 (Strong Buy) to #5 (Strong Sell), the Zacks Rank system has a proven, outside-audited track record of outperformance, with #1 stocks returning an average of +25% annually since 1988. Over the past month, there's been a 0.31% fall in the Zacks Consensus EPS estimate. At present, MasterCard boasts a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold).
In terms of valuation, MasterCard is currently trading at a Forward P/E ratio of 32.34. Its industry sports an average Forward P/E of 14.27, so one might conclude that MasterCard is trading at a premium comparatively.
We can additionally observe that MA currently boasts a PEG ratio of 2.09. 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 average PEG ratio for the Financial Transaction Services industry stood at 1.18 at the close of the market yesterday.
The Financial Transaction Services industry is part of the Business Services sector. This industry, currently bearing a Zacks Industry Rank of 85, finds itself in the top 34% echelons 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.
Keep in mind to rely on Zacks.com to watch all these stock-impacting metrics, and more, in the succeeding trading sessions.
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The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.
