Mastercard (MA) Expected to Announce Quarterly Earnings on Thursday

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) is expected to be issuing its quarterly earnings data before the market opens on Thursday, January 30th. Analysts expect the company to announce earnings of $3.71 per share and revenue of $7.38 billion for the quarter. Persons interested in listening to the company’s earnings conference call can do so using this link.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The credit services provider reported $3.89 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.73 by $0.16. The business had revenue of $7.37 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.27 billion. Mastercard had a return on equity of 178.27% and a net margin of 45.26%. Mastercard’s quarterly revenue was up 12.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $3.39 EPS. On average, analysts expect Mastercard to post $14 EPS for the current fiscal year and $16 EPS for the next fiscal year.

Mastercard Stock Performance

Shares of MA stock opened at $547.61 on Wednesday. Mastercard has a one year low of $428.86 and a one year high of $551.55. The company has a market cap of $502.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 41.42, a P/E/G ratio of 2.10 and a beta of 1.10. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $525.29 and a 200-day moving average of $498.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.36, a current ratio of 1.29 and a quick ratio of 1.29.

Mastercard Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 7th. Investors of record on Thursday, January 9th will be given a dividend of $0.76 per share. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.56%. This is an increase from Mastercard’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.66. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 10th. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 23.00%.

Mastercard declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a share buyback program on Tuesday, December 17th that authorizes the company to repurchase $12.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the credit services provider to purchase up to 2.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are often a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have issued reports on MA. UBS Group boosted their target price on Mastercard from $590.00 to $610.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 14th. Seaport Res Ptn lowered Mastercard from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Macquarie upped their price target on Mastercard from $505.00 to $565.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. KeyCorp increased their target price on shares of Mastercard from $515.00 to $580.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Citigroup lifted their price objective on Mastercard from $572.00 to $584.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-two have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $567.29.

Mastercard Company Profile

Mastercard Incorporated, a technology company, provides transaction processing and other payment-related products and services in the United States and internationally. The company offers integrated products and value-added services for account holders, merchants, financial institutions, digital partners, businesses, governments, and other organizations, such as programs that enable issuers to provide consumers with credits to defer payments; payment products and solutions that allow its customers to access funds in deposit and other accounts; prepaid programs services; and commercial credit, debit, and prepaid payment products and solutions.