Is Mastercard (MA) Outperforming Other Business Services Stocks This Year?
For those looking to find strong Business Services stocks, it is prudent to search for companies in the group that are outperforming their peers. MasterCard (MA) 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? Let's take a closer look at the stock's year-to-date performance to find out.
MasterCard is a member of the Business Services sector. This group includes 312 individual stocks and currently holds a Zacks Sector Rank of #7. The Zacks Sector Rank considers 16 different groups, measuring the average Zacks Rank of the individual stocks within the sector to gauge the strength of each group.
The Zacks Rank is a proven system that emphasizes earnings estimates and estimate revisions, highlighting a variety of stocks that are displaying the right characteristics to beat the market over the next one to three months. MasterCard is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy).
Over the past 90 days, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for MA's full-year earnings has moved 0.3% higher. This signals that analyst sentiment is improving and the stock's earnings outlook is more positive.
Based on the latest available data, MA has gained about 17.8% so far this year. Meanwhile, the Business Services sector has returned an average of 16.1% on a year-to-date basis. This means that MasterCard is outperforming the sector as a whole this year.
Another Business Services stock, which has outperformed the sector so far this year, is INTERTEK GP (IKTSY). The stock has returned 19.4% year-to-date.
Over the past three months, INTERTEK GP's consensus EPS estimate for the current year has increased 2.1%. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).
Breaking things down more, MasterCard is a member of the Financial Transaction Services industry, which includes 43 individual companies and currently sits at #86 in the Zacks Industry Rank. This group has gained an average of 11.6% so far this year, so MA is performing better in this area.
INTERTEK GP, however, belongs to the Business - Information Services industry. Currently, this 10-stock industry is ranked #14. The industry has moved +16.5% so far this year.
Investors with an interest in Business Services stocks should continue to track MasterCard and INTERTEK GP. These stocks will be looking to continue their solid performance.
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Mastercard Incorporated (MA) : Free Stock Analysis Report
INTERTEK GP (IKTSY) : Free Stock Analysis Report