MasterCard (MA) Stock Sinks As Market Gains: What You Should Know

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In the latest trading session, MasterCard (MA) closed at $495.57, marking a -0.16% move from the previous day. This change lagged the S&P 500's 0.01% gain on the day. At the same time, the Dow added 0.09%, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq gained 0.08%.

Shares of the processor of debit and credit card payments witnessed a gain of 2.96% over the previous month, beating the performance of the Business Services sector with its gain of 1.2% and the S&P 500's gain of 1.21%.

Market participants will be closely following the financial results of MasterCard in its upcoming release. The company's earnings per share (EPS) are projected to be $3.71, reflecting a 9.44% increase from the same quarter last year. Simultaneously, our latest consensus estimate expects the revenue to be $7.24 billion, showing a 10.83% escalation compared to the year-ago quarter.

Looking at the full year, the Zacks Consensus Estimates suggest analysts are expecting earnings of $14.29 per share and revenue of $27.92 billion. These totals would mark changes of +16.56% and +11.24%, respectively, from last year.

Investors should also pay attention to any latest changes in analyst estimates for MasterCard. Such recent modifications usually signify the changing landscape of near-term business trends. As a result, upbeat changes in estimates indicate analysts' favorable outlook on the company's business health and profitability.

Empirical research indicates that these revisions in estimates have a direct correlation with impending stock price performance. To capitalize on this, we've crafted the Zacks Rank, a unique model that incorporates these estimate changes and offers a practical 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, the Zacks Consensus EPS estimate remained stagnant. MasterCard is holding a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold) right now.

In terms of valuation, MasterCard is currently trading at a Forward P/E ratio of 34.73. This represents a premium compared to its industry's average Forward P/E of 16.59.

We can additionally observe that MA currently boasts a PEG ratio of 1.95. The PEG ratio bears resemblance to the frequently used P/E ratio, but this parameter also includes the company's expected earnings growth trajectory. By the end of yesterday's trading, the Financial Transaction Services industry had an average PEG ratio of 1.29.

The Financial Transaction Services industry is part of the Business Services sector. With its current Zacks Industry Rank of 57, this industry ranks in the top 23% of all industries, numbering over 250.

The strength of our individual industry groups is measured by the Zacks Industry Rank, which is calculated based on the average Zacks Rank of the individual stocks within these groups. Our research shows that the top 50% rated industries outperform the bottom half by a factor of 2 to 1.

Ensure to harness Zacks.com to stay updated with all these stock-shifting metrics, among others, in the next trading sessions.

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