Wednesday, March 2, 2022
 

The Zacks Research Daily presents the best research output of our analyst team. Today's Research Daily features new research reports on 16 major stocks, including Mastercard Inc. (MA), Wells Fargo & Co. (WFC), and United Parcel Service, Inc. (UPS). These research reports have been hand-picked from the roughly 70 reports published by our analyst team today.
 

You can see all of today’s research reports here >>>
 

Shares of Mastercard have outperformed the Zacks Financial Transaction Services industry over the past six month period (+1.3% vs. -21.6%). The Zacks analyst believes that the company’s profit levels are rising thanks to increasing consumer spending. This enabled the company to report strong fourth-quarter results.

Numerous acquisitions are helping it to grow addressable markets and drive new revenue streams. The COVID-19 crisis accelerated the use of electronic payments with much greater adoption of digital and contactless solutions. The situation provides an opportunity for Mastercard's business to expedite its shift to the digital mode.
 

The company is well-poised to gain from steady cash-generating abilities. A strong capital position enables the company to pursue acquisitions and deploy capital. However, steep operating expenses might stress margins. High rebates and incentives may weigh on net revenues.
 

(You can read the full research report on Mastercard here >>>)
 

Shares of Wells Fargo have outperformed the Zacks Banks - Major Regional industry over the past year (+33.4% vs. +4.4%). The company's surprise history is impressive, with earnings having surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate in all the trailing four quarters. The Zacks analyst believes that the growing deposit balance, driven by encouraging economic trends, strengthens the company's liquidity position.
 

Given its robust capital position, the company’s capital-deployment activities seem sustainable. Improving credit quality poses a tailwind. Yet, loss of revenues from portfolio sales remains concerning. Nonetheless, progress on efficiency initiatives propelled expense control and savings. This is expected to aid Well Fargo's bottom line continuously.
 

(You can read the full research report on Wells Fargo here >>>)
 

Shares of United Parcel Service have outperformed the Zacks Transportation - Air Freight and Cargo industry over the past year (+28.2% vs. +6.6%). The Zacks analyst believes that like the first three quarters of 2021, upbeat demand for e-commerce-related package deliveries aided UPS' fourth-quarter 2021 results.
 

UPS' efforts to reward its shareholders is also commendable. In the latest shareholder-friendly move, UPS' board approved a 49% quarterly dividend increase to $1.52 per share (annualized: $6.08), in February. In 2021, UPS paid out dividends worth $3.4 billion. UPS is also active on the buyback front. Robust free cash-flow generation by the company ($10.9 billion in 2021, more than double the 2020 actuals) supports its shareholder-friendly activities.
 

However, high operating costs (up 9.7% in 2021) are hurting the bottom line. With oil price moving north, fuel costs (up 48.9% in 2021) are escalating and flaring up total costs.
 

(You can read the full research report on United Parcel Service here >>>)
 

Other noteworthy reports we are featuring today include Intuit Inc. (INTU), Medtronic plc (MDT) and EOG Resources, Inc. (EOG).
 

Mark Vickery
Senior Editor

Note: Sheraz Mian heads the Zacks Equity Research department and is a well-regarded expert of aggregate earnings. He is frequently quoted in the print and electronic media and publishes the weekly Earnings Trends and Earnings Preview reports. If you want an email notification each time Sheraz publishes a new article, please click here>>>