MasterCard and Visa to Open Near 52-Week Highs

MasterCard (NYSE:

) and Visa (NYSE:

) reached new 52-week highs of $322.27 and $90.83 per share, respectively, in Thursday's trading session.

surged from $279 to $309 per share at the end of June, following the Federal Reserve's decision to place a higher-than-proposed cap on debit-card transaction fees. The Purchase, New York-based company operates the second-largest payment system on the U.S.: providing the transaction authorization network for its namesake cards and collecting fees from members. Its market cap is $39.5 billion. The dividend yield is 0.2% and the return on equity is 42.2%. The long-term EPS growth forecast is 19.5%. The P/E ratio is less than the industry average and the PEG ratio is 0.9. The stock has grown more than 42% since the beginning of the year, outperforming the business services industry average and American Express (NYSE:

), as well as the broader markets.

just reaffirmed its revenue guidance, signaling that the impact of the debit-card fee cap will occur in 2012 but that momentum would continue in 2013. The Foster City, California-based company has a $47.2 billion market cap and operates the world's largest consumer payment system, licenses the Visa name to member institutions, and offers debit cards, smart cards and traveler's checks. The company's P/E ratio is less than the industry average, and the long-term EPS growth forecast is 19.1%. It has a PEG ratio of 0.9 and a dividend yield of 0.6%. The share price has risen about 28% year to date. In that time, the stock also has outperformed the business services industry average and American Express, as well as the broader markets.

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