Visa (V) closed at $153.06 in the latest trading session, marking a -0.01% move from the prior day. This move was narrower than the S&P 500's daily loss of 0.08%. Meanwhile, the Dow gained 0.06%, and the Nasdaq, a tech-heavy index, lost 0.07%.
Coming into today, shares of the global payments processor had gained 6.3% in the past month. In that same time, the Business Services sector gained 2.64%, while the S&P 500 gained 0.52%.
V will be looking to display strength as it nears its next earnings release. The company is expected to report EPS of $1.24, up 11.71% from the prior-year quarter. Our most recent consensus estimate is calling for quarterly revenue of $5.45 billion, up 7.5% from the year-ago period.
Looking at the full year, our Zacks Consensus Estimates suggest analysts are expecting earnings of $5.32 per share and revenue of $22.76 billion. These totals would mark changes of +15.4% and +10.41%, respectively, from last year.
Any recent changes to analyst estimates for V should also be noted by investors. These revisions typically reflect the latest short-term business trends, which can change frequently. As a result, we can interpret positive estimate revisions as a good sign for the company's business outlook.
Research indicates that these estimate revisions are directly correlated with near-term share price momentum. We developed the Zacks Rank to capitalize on this phenomenon. Our system takes these estimate changes into account and delivers a clear, actionable rating model.
The Zacks Rank system, which ranges from #1 (Strong Buy) to #5 (Strong Sell), has an impressive outside-audited track record of outperformance, with #1 stocks generating an average annual return of +25% since 1988. Over the past month, the Zacks Consensus EPS estimate has moved 0.18% lower. V is currently a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).
Valuation is also important, so investors should note that V has a Forward P/E ratio of 28.78 right now. This valuation marks a premium compared to its industry's average Forward P/E of 20.16.
Investors should also note that V has a PEG ratio of 1.75 right now. This popular metric is similar to the widely-known P/E ratio, with the difference being that the PEG ratio also takes into account the company's expected earnings growth rate. Financial Transaction Services stocks are, on average, holding a PEG ratio of 1.58 based on yesterday's closing prices.
The Financial Transaction Services industry is part of the Business Services sector. This industry currently has a Zacks Industry Rank of 166, which puts it in the bottom 35% 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.
Be sure to follow all of these stock-moving metrics, and many more, on Zacks.com.
Visa Inc. (NYSE:V): Free Stock Analysis Report
Original post