MasterCard (MA) Gains As Market Dips: What You Should Know
MasterCard (MA) closed at $333.42 in the latest trading session, marking a +0.51% move from the prior day. This change outpaced the S&P 500's 0.22% loss on the day. Elsewhere, the Dow lost 0.35%, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq lost 0.28%.
Coming into today, shares of the processor of debit and credit card payments had lost 1.07% in the past month. In that same time, the Business Services sector lost 11.1%, while the S&P 500 gained 3.82%.
MA will be looking to display strength as it nears its next earnings release, which is expected to be October 28, 2020. On that day, MA is projected to report earnings of $1.64 per share, which would represent a year-over-year decline of 23.72%. Meanwhile, our latest consensus estimate is calling for revenue of $3.93 billion, down 12.07% from the prior-year quarter.
For the full year, our Zacks Consensus Estimates are projecting earnings of $6.61 per share and revenue of $15.56 billion, which would represent changes of -14.93% and -7.85%, respectively, from the prior year.
Investors might also notice recent changes to analyst estimates for MA. These recent revisions tend to reflect the evolving nature of short-term business trends. As a result, we can interpret positive estimate revisions as a good sign for the company's business outlook.
Based on our research, we believe these estimate revisions are directly related to near-team stock moves. We developed the Zacks Rank to capitalize on this phenomenon. Our system takes these estimate changes into account and delivers a clear, actionable rating model.
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. The Zacks Consensus EPS estimate has moved 0.13% lower within the past month. MA is currently a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).
Investors should also note MA's current valuation metrics, including its Forward P/E ratio of 50.15. Its industry sports an average Forward P/E of 26.5, so we one might conclude that MA is trading at a premium comparatively.
Also, we should mention that MA has a PEG ratio of 2.77. 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. MA's industry had an average PEG ratio of 1.47 as of yesterday's close.
The Financial Transaction Services industry is part of the Business Services sector. This industry currently has a Zacks Industry Rank of 117, which puts it in the top 47% of all 250+ industries.
The Zacks Industry Rank includes is listed in order from best to worst in terms of the average Zacks Rank of the individual companies within each of these sectors. Our research shows that the top 50% rated industries outperform the bottom half by a factor of 2 to 1.
You can find more information on all of these metrics, and much more, on Zacks.com.
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Mastercard Incorporated (MA) : Free Stock Analysis Report
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