** Visa's V.N shares up 1.1% at $330.42 ahead of its quarterly earnings report due after markets close on Thursday
** Wall Street analysts expect V to report a ~12% rise in revenue to ~$10.7 bln while adj EPS is estimated to rise to $3.14 versus $2.75 a year earlier
** V's adj EPS have exceeded analyst expectations every time in the last 8 quarters while revenue has met or beaten expectations in seven of past eight qtrs
** Earlier on Thurs, V's rival Mastercard MA.N beat Wall Street expectations for fourth-quarter profit, as resilient spending on travel, leisure and everyday essentials boosted transaction volumes for the payment processor
** Among 41 analysts covering V, avg rating is "BUY" and median PT is $404
** V is down 5.8% YTD vs 3.1% decline in S&P 500 financial sector .SPSY
(Reporting by Chibuike Oguh in New York)
((Email: Chibuike.Oguh@thomsonreuters.com; Phone: +332-219-1834; Reuters Messaging: chibuike.oguh.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net))