Back to top

Image: Bigstock

Is Mastercard (MA) Stock Outpacing Its Business Services Peers This Year?

Read MoreHide Full Article

The Business Services group has plenty of great stocks, but investors should always be looking for companies that are outperforming their peers. MasterCard (MA - Free Report) is a stock that can certainly grab the attention of many investors, but do its recent returns compare favorably to the sector as a whole? By taking a look at the stock's year-to-date performance in comparison to its Business Services peers, we might be able to answer that question.

MasterCard is a member of the Business Services sector. This group includes 313 individual stocks and currently holds a Zacks Sector Rank of #6. The Zacks Sector Rank considers 16 different sector groups. The average Zacks Rank of the individual stocks within the groups is measured, and the sectors are listed from best to worst.

The Zacks Rank is a successful stock-picking model that emphasizes earnings estimates and estimate revisions. The system highlights a number of different stocks that could be poised to outperform the broader market over the next one to three months. MasterCard is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy).

Over the past three months, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for MA's full-year earnings has moved 1.1% higher. This is a sign of improving analyst sentiment and a positive earnings outlook trend.

According to our latest data, MA has moved about 8% on a year-to-date basis. Meanwhile, the Business Services sector has returned an average of 3.4% on a year-to-date basis. This means that MasterCard is outperforming the sector as a whole this year.

Spotify (SPOT - Free Report) is another Business Services stock that has outperformed the sector so far this year. Since the beginning of the year, the stock has returned 18.4%.

The consensus estimate for Spotify's current year EPS has increased 51.6% over the past three months. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy).

To break things down more, MasterCard belongs to the Financial Transaction Services industry, a group that includes 38 individual companies and currently sits at #104 in the Zacks Industry Rank. This group has gained an average of 6.5% so far this year, so MA is performing better in this area.

On the other hand, Spotify belongs to the Technology Services industry. This 174-stock industry is currently ranked #82. The industry has moved -0.1% year to date.

MasterCard and Spotify could continue their solid performance, so investors interested in Business Services stocks should continue to pay close attention to these stocks.


See More Zacks Research for These Tickers


Normally $25 each - click below to receive one report FREE:


Mastercard Incorporated (MA) - free report >>

Spotify Technology (SPOT) - free report >>

Published in