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MasterCard (MA) Stock Falls Amid Market Uptick: What Investors Need to Know

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In the latest trading session, MasterCard (MA - Free Report) closed at $443, marking a -1.35% move from the previous day. The stock trailed the S&P 500, which registered a daily gain of 0.85%. Elsewhere, the Dow saw a downswing of 0.09%, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq appreciated by 1.53%.

Coming into today, shares of the processor of debit and credit card payments had lost 1.14% in the past month. In that same time, the Business Services sector lost 0.5%, while the S&P 500 gained 3.11%.

Analysts and investors alike will be keeping a close eye on the performance of MasterCard in its upcoming earnings disclosure. The company's upcoming EPS is projected at $3.50, signifying a 21.11% increase compared to the same quarter of the previous year. Simultaneously, our latest consensus estimate expects the revenue to be $6.85 billion, showing a 9.28% escalation compared to the year-ago quarter.

In terms of the entire fiscal year, the Zacks Consensus Estimates predict earnings of $14.22 per share and a revenue of $27.8 billion, indicating changes of +15.99% and +10.75%, respectively, from the former year.

Any recent changes to analyst estimates for MasterCard should also be noted by investors. 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 shows that these estimate changes are directly correlated with near-term stock prices. To exploit this, we've formed the Zacks Rank, a quantitative model that includes these estimate changes and presents a viable 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. Within the past 30 days, our consensus EPS projection has moved 0.15% lower. MasterCard is holding a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold) right now.

Digging into valuation, MasterCard currently has a Forward P/E ratio of 31.59. This indicates a premium in contrast to its industry's Forward P/E of 14.37.

Also, we should mention that MA has a PEG ratio of 1.76. The PEG ratio is akin to the commonly utilized P/E ratio, but this measure also incorporates the company's anticipated earnings growth rate. The Financial Transaction Services industry had an average PEG ratio of 0.95 as trading concluded yesterday.

The Financial Transaction Services industry is part of the Business Services sector. Currently, this industry holds a Zacks Industry Rank of 47, positioning it in the top 19% 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.

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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