Stock Update: Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) – Barron’s predicts that Microsoft shares could rise 30% in the next 18 months

[Business Insider] – Microsoft stock could rise as much as 30% over the next 18 months, mostly on the back of its… Read more on this. Microsoft Corporation (MSFT) , with a current market cap of $435.66B, opened this morning at $54.81. Today’s price range has been between $54.23 and $55.35 per share with a trailing 52-week range being $39.72 to $56.79. MSFT shares are currently priced at 19.61x this year’s forecasted earnings, which makes them relatively expensive compared to the industry’s 9.64x earnings multiple. And for those looking to make a return holding the stock, the company pays shareholders $1.44 per share annually in dividends, yielding 2.66%. Consensus earnings for the current quarter by the 28 sell-side analysts covering the stock is an estimate of $0.71 per share, which would be $0.00 worse than the year-ago quarter and a $0.01 sequential decrease. Furthermore, our analysis shows the full-year EPS estimate to be $2.76, which would be a $0.30 improvement when compared to the last year’s annual results. The quarterly earnings estimate is based on a consensus revenue forecast of the current quarter of $25.23 Billion. If realized, that would be a 4.68% decrease over the year-ago quarter. More recently, Goldman upgraded MSFT from Sell to Neutral (Dec 18, 2015). Previously, Stifel upgraded MSFT from Hold to Buy. The average price target for MSFT shares by the analysts covering the stock is $57.00, which is 4.00% above where the stock opened this morning. See more in (NASDAQ:MSFT) Similar Articles: Stock Update: Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) – MICROSOFT IS UP 10%: Here’s what a one-point move in MSFT does to the Dow Company Update: Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) – Cloud services bolster Microsoft results, shares soar Market Update: Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) – One Reason Microsoft (MSFT) Stock Closed Up