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

Investors focused on the Business Services space have likely heard of Mastercard (MA), but is the stock performing well in comparison to the rest of its sector peers? Let's take a closer look at the stock's year-to-date performance to find out.

Mastercard is one of 191 companies in the Business Services group. The Business Services group currently sits at #4 within the Zacks Sector Rank. The Zacks Sector Rank gauges the strength of our 16 individual sector groups by measuring the average Zacks Rank of the individual stocks within the groups.

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. MA 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 1.09% higher. This signals that analyst sentiment is improving and the stock's earnings outlook is more positive.

Based on the most recent data, MA has returned 48.84% so far this year. Meanwhile, stocks in the Business Services group have gained about 27.58% on average. This means that Mastercard is performing better than its sector in terms of year-to-date returns.

Breaking things down more, MA is a member of the Financial Transaction Services industry, which includes 25 individual companies and currently sits at #78 in the Zacks Industry Rank.

Investors with an interest in Business Services stocks should continue to track MA. The stock will be looking to continue its solid performance.

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