Company Update (NASDAQ:MSFT): Once one of Microsoft’s biggest money pits, Bing is now eroding Google’s core business

[at American City Business Journals] – Microsoft’s (MSFT) search engine, Bing – once the Redmond company’s biggest money pit – is slowly gaining on Google’s core search engine business. Google still has a formidable lead with 64 percent of the market share, but Bing captured 21 percent of users last month, according to the latest comScore report. Read more on this. Microsoft Corporation (MSFT) , with a current market cap of $444.69B, started trading this morning at $55.86. Today, shares have traded between $55.43 and $55.96 per share with its 52-week range being $39.72 to $56.79. Priced at 20.30x this year’s forecasted earnings, MSFT shares are relatively expensive compared to the industry’s 9.02x forward p/e ratio. And for income investors, the company pays shareholders $1.44 per share annually in dividends, yielding 2.63%. According to a consensus of 27 analysts, the earnings estimate of $0.71 per share would be $0.00 worse than the year-ago quarter and a $0.01 sequential decrease. In looking at the bigger picture, the full-year EPS estimate of $2.75 would be a $0.29 better when compared to the previous year’s annual results. The quarterly earnings estimate is predicated on a consensus revenue forecast of $25.23 Billion. If reported, 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. With the above information in mind, readers should note that the average price target is $57.00, which is 2.04% 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 Stock Update: Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) – Smart money makes ‘stupid’ trade on Microsoft Company Update: Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) – Microsoft (MSFT) Stock Up on New Financial Reporting Structure