4-Star Stocks Poised to Pop: Visa

Recs

4

Based on the aggregated intelligence of 120,000-plus investors participating in Motley Fool CAPS, the Fool's free investing community, credit card giant Visa (NYSE: V) has earned a respected four-star ranking. While five-star stocks have been the best performers, our data has shown that four-star stocks still outshine the market by a significant margin and shouldn't be taken lightly; conversely, low-rated stocks have woefully lagged the market average.

With that in mind, let's take a closer look at Visa's business, and see what CAPS investors are saying about the stock right now.

Visa facts

Headquarters (founded)

San Francisco, California (1958)

Market Cap

$40.26 billion

Industry

Data Processing & Outsourced Services

TTM Revenue

$6.26 billion

Management

CEO Joseph Saunders (since 2007)

CFO Byron Pollitt Jr. (since 2007)

TTM Return on Capital

8.6%

Competitors

American Express (NYSE: AXP),

MasterCard (NYSE: MA)

CAPS members bullish on V also bullish on

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE: JNJ),

Google (Nasdaq: GOOG)

CAPS members bearish on V also bearish on

Citigroup (NYSE: C),

General Motors (NYSE: GM)

Sources: Capital IQ, a division of Standard & Poor's, and Motley Fool CAPS. TTM = trailing 12 months.

Over on CAPS, fully 439 of the 511 All-Star members who have rated Visa -- some 86% -- believe the stock will outperform the S&P 500 going forward. These bulls include betan1 and Guardian21.

Late last month, betan1 wrote that "People will be carrying less and less cash on them as time goes on. This stock is a real bargain right now. Once the economy starts turning, Visa will be one of the firsts to show substantial gains."

In a pitch from one week later, Guardian21 shares that contrarian spirit, writing:

Visa will profit from the long term trend of increasing consumer use of credit and debit cards. It is the dominant competitor in its industry. Along with Mastercard, its business model contains less risk than some of its other competitors since it does not lend. Stong balance sheet, with over 5 billion in cash and about 100 million in debt. Recent pullback provides opportunity to accumulate shares when PEG is under 1.

What do you think about Visa, or any other stock for that matter? Make your voice heard on Motley Fool CAPS today. More than 120,000 investors are waiting to hear what you have to say. CAPS is 100% free, so simply click here to get started.

Like this article? Get our best articles delivered direct to your inbox at no cost. Sign up for Foolwatch Weekly by entering your email below.

Fool contributor Brian Pacampara owns no position in any of the companies mentioned. Johnson & Johnson is a Motley Fool Income Investor pick, Google is a Rule Breakers selection, and American Express is a choice of Inside Value. The Fool owns shares of American Express. The Fool's disclosure policy always gets a perfect score.

Comments from our Foolish Readers

Help us keep this a respectfully Foolish area! This is a place for our readers to discuss, debate, and learn more about the Foolish investing topic you read about above. Help us keep it clean and safe. If you believe a comment is abusive or otherwise violates our Fool's Rules, please report it via the Report this Comment Report this Comment icon found on every comment.

  • Report this Comment On November 13, 2008, at 10:59 PM, JavaChipFool wrote:

    My first reaction without any research whatsoever is this is a crazy pick. The research I need is how will V be affected by the upcoming consumer credit crash, because, my friends, it is coming. Its a train on the tracks that aint stopping anytime soon, and the headlight is so bright I can't even guess how long the train is.

  • Report this Comment On December 05, 2008, at 4:08 PM, squished18 wrote:

    Without truly analyzing the business, this posting is just fluff. Where's the real data? Tell me how it affects Visa's bottom line if the rate of default goes up by 1%. Then maybe we'll have a real idea what the risk is with this play.

Add your comment.

Compare Brokers

TD AMERITRADE
more info
ShareBuilder
more info
Power E*Trade

more info
Scottrade
more info
Fool Disclosure

DocumentId: 775554, ~/Articles/ArticleHandler.aspx, 11/20/2009 8:07:41 PM

Report This Comment

Use this area to report a comment that you believe is in violation of the community guidelines. Our team will review the entry and take any appropriate action.

Sending report...

The Must-Read Story on Fool.com
An Open Letter to the Federal Reserve

Related Tickers

11/20/2009 4:00 PM
JNJ $62.31 Up +0.37 +0.60%
Johnson & Johnson CAPS Rating: *****
AXP $40.93 Down -0.21 -0.51%
American Express C… CAPS Rating: ***
MA $231.16 Up +1.07 +0.47%
MasterCard, Inc. CAPS Rating: **
V $80.00 Down -0.18 -0.22%
Visa, Inc. CAPS Rating: ***
GM $0.75 Down +0.00 +0.00%
General Motors Cor… CAPS Rating: *
GOOG $569.96 Down -3.03 -0.53%
Google, Inc. CAPS Rating: ***
C $4.20 Down -0.06 -1.41%
Citigroup, Inc. CAPS Rating: ***

Community: Investing Wiki

Term Of The Hour

Delisted stock: A delisted stock is one whose fundamentals no longer meet the requirements of the NYSE or the Nasdaq.

Want to learn more or edit this definition?
Click here to read more!