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Q1 Preview: Analysts See Slight Upside for Visa (V) as Volumes Remain Steady

February 8, 2012 1:47 PM EST
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Price: $275.16 --0%

Rating Summary:
    35 Buy, 11 Hold, 0 Sell

Rating Trend: = Flat

Today's Overall Ratings:
    Up: 7 | Down: 12 | New: 1
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Shares of Visa Inc. (NYSE: V) are trading up around 0.5 percent Wednesday ahead of the release of its first-quarter results after the closing bell.

Analysts are expecting Visa to report EPS of $1.45 on sales of $2.47 billion. The company reported earnings of $1.23 per share on $2.24 billion in revenue for the first quarter of 2011.

The first-quarter conference call is scheduled for 5:00 pm ET.

According to data from Bloomberg, shares of Visa Inc. have 33 Buy ratings, seven Hold ratings and zero Sell ratings. The average price target on shares of GRPN is $114.50 with a range from $55 to $130.

Analyst Comments:

Wells Fargo is slightly bullish as it forecasts earnings of $1.47 per share on $2.46 billion in revenue. The firm believes rebates and incentives will make up 16.5 percent of total revenue. Wells Fargo is expecting operating margins of 61.9 percent.

“Overall, we look for management to remain relatively bullish on the outlook and reiterate their confidence in the post-Durbin outlook,” said an analyst at Wells Fargo. “With much of the Durbin regulatory uncertainty behind Visa and its impact likely more minimal than anticipated, we view shares of Visa attractively.”

Wells Fargo reiterated an Outperform rating and $103-$107 valuation range going into the release.

JPMorgan forecasts quarterly earnings of $1.51 per share on $2.48 billion in total revenue. The firm estimates client incentives will total 17.8 percent of revenue for the quarter. An analyst at the firm noted December and January volumes should be relatively stable and should be consistent with MasterCard’s (NYSE: MA) results.

JPMorgan reaffirmed an Overweight rating and $123 price target on Visa.


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