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MasterCard (MA) Stock Declines While Market Improves: Some Information for Investors

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MasterCard (MA - Free Report) closed at $438.70 in the latest trading session, marking a -0.01% move from the prior day. This move lagged the S&P 500's daily gain of 0.08%. Elsewhere, the Dow saw a downswing of 0.26%, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq appreciated by 0.36%.

Shares of the processor of debit and credit card payments witnessed a gain of 3.56% over the previous month, beating the performance of the Business Services sector with its gain of 1.34% and the S&P 500's gain of 2.4%.

Analysts and investors alike will be keeping a close eye on the performance of MasterCard in its upcoming earnings disclosure. The company's earnings report is set to go public on January 31, 2024. The company's earnings per share (EPS) are projected to be $3.08, reflecting a 16.23% increase from the same quarter last year. Simultaneously, our latest consensus estimate expects the revenue to be $6.46 billion, showing a 10.99% escalation compared to the year-ago quarter.

Investors should also take note of any recent adjustments to analyst estimates for MasterCard. Such recent modifications usually signify the changing landscape of near-term business trends. As a result, we can interpret positive estimate revisions as a good sign for the company's business outlook.

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, running from #1 (Strong Buy) to #5 (Strong Sell), holds an admirable track record of superior performance, independently audited, with #1 stocks contributing an average annual return of +25% since 1988. Within the past 30 days, our consensus EPS projection has moved 0.17% higher. MasterCard is currently a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).

Digging into valuation, MasterCard currently has a Forward P/E ratio of 30.9. This represents a premium compared to its industry's average Forward P/E of 12.97.

It's also important to note that MA currently trades at a PEG ratio of 1.94. The PEG ratio is similar to the widely-used P/E ratio, but this metric also takes the company's expected earnings growth rate into account. The average PEG ratio for the Financial Transaction Services industry stood at 1.14 at the close of the market yesterday.

The Financial Transaction Services industry is part of the Business Services sector. At present, this industry carries a Zacks Industry Rank of 88, placing it within the top 35% of over 250 industries.

The Zacks Industry Rank is ordered 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.

Remember to apply Zacks.com to follow these and more stock-moving metrics during the upcoming trading sessions.


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