Visa still appealing after big surge

Article Excerpt

Visa’s shares have soared 800% since we first recommended them in our December 2010 issue at $19 (adjusted for splits). We were originally drawn to the company’s unique business model, which lets it profit as more people use credit and debit cards instead of cheques and cash. Yet, it has no exposure to cardholders who do not repay their loans. We feel Visa still has plenty of growth ahead, particularly as it expands into developing countries. Investments in new technologies that make using cards easier and more secure should also spur growth. VISA INC. $171 (New York symbol V; Conservative Growth Portfolio, Finance sector; Shares outstanding: 2.3 billion; Market cap: $393.3 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 18.1; Dividend yield: 0.6%; TSINetwork Rating: Above Average; www.visa.com) processes credit, debit, prepaid and commercial transactions through its electronic payments network— s the world’s largest. The company’s systems can handle over 65,000 transactions per second. Visa gets most of its revenue from the fees it charges card issuers and merchants using…