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from the world of economics and financeThe latest trading session saw MasterCard (MA) ending at $438.18, denoting a +2% adjustment from its last day's close. This move outpaced the S&P 500's daily gain of 1.11%. At the same time, the Dow added 1.64%, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq gained 1.03%.
Heading into today, shares of the processor of debit and credit card payments had lost 2.97% over the past month, lagging the Business Services sector's loss of 2.82% and the S&P 500's loss of 1.16% in that time.
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 July 31, 2024. The company's earnings per share (EPS) are projected to be $3.51, reflecting a 21.45% increase from the same quarter last year. In the meantime, our current consensus estimate forecasts the revenue to be $6.85 billion, indicating a 9.27% growth compared to the corresponding quarter of the prior year.
Regarding the entire year, the Zacks Consensus Estimates forecast earnings of $14.25 per share and revenue of $27.79 billion, indicating changes of +16.23% and +10.74%, respectively, compared to the previous year.
It is also important to note the recent changes to analyst estimates for MasterCard. Recent revisions tend to reflect the latest near-term business trends. As a result, upbeat changes in estimates indicate analysts' favorable outlook on the company's business health and profitability.
Our research demonstrates that these adjustments in estimates directly associate with imminent 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.
The Zacks Rank system, stretching from #1 (Strong Buy) to #5 (Strong Sell), has a noteworthy track record of outperforming, validated by third-party audits, with stocks rated #1 producing an average annual return of +25% since the year 1988. Over the last 30 days, the Zacks Consensus EPS estimate has moved 0.04% lower. MasterCard presently features a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold).
Looking at valuation, MasterCard is presently trading at a Forward P/E ratio of 30.14. This signifies a premium in comparison to the average Forward P/E of 15.75 for its industry.
Investors should also note that MA has a PEG ratio of 1.7 right now. Comparable to the widely accepted P/E ratio, the PEG ratio also accounts for the company's projected earnings growth. As of the close of trade yesterday, the Financial Transaction Services industry held an average PEG ratio of 1.04.
The Financial Transaction Services industry is part of the Business Services sector. At present, this industry carries a Zacks Industry Rank of 156, placing it within the bottom 39% of over 250 industries.
The Zacks Industry Rank assesses the strength of our separate industry groups by calculating the average Zacks Rank of the individual stocks contained within the groups. Our research shows that the top 50% rated industries outperform the bottom half by a factor of 2 to 1.
Make sure to utilize Zacks.com to follow all of these stock-moving metrics, and more, in the coming trading sessions.
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Mastercard Incorporated (MA) : Free Stock Analysis Report
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