Market Update: Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) – Yahoo! (YHOO) Stock Climbs on Potential Microsoft Deal

[at TheStreet] – Yahoo! (YHOO) stock is higher in morning trading on Monday, as Microsoft (MSFT) reportedly considers contributing to finance to purchase the company. Read more on this. Microsoft Corporation (MSFT) , valued at $424.06B, started trading this morning at $54.21. A quick look at the market, the company’s stock traded between $53.60 and $54.29 with its 52-week range being $39.72 to $56.85. Priced at 19.64x this year’s forecasted earnings, MSFT shares are relatively expensive compared to the industry’s 17.40x forward p/e ratio. And for dividend hunters, the company pays shareholders $1.44 per share annually in dividends, yielding 2.66%. Consensus earnings for the current quarter by the 29 sell-side analysts covering the stock is an estimate of $0.64 per share, which would be $0.03 better than the year-ago quarter and a $0.04 sequential decrease. What we find to be interesting is that the full-year EPS estimate of $2.76 is a $0.30 better when compared to the previous year’s annual results. The quarterly earnings estimate is based on a consensus revenue forecast of the current quarter of $22.10 Billion. If realized, that would be a 1.70% increase over the year-ago quarter. Recently, Macquarie Initiated MSFT at Neutral (Mar 4, 2016). Previously, Morgan Stanley upgraded MSFT from Equal-Weight to Overweight. Given all the information above, we should disclose to readers that the average price target is $58.73, which is 8.34% above than it opened this morning. See more in (NASDAQ:MSFT) Similar Articles: Market Update: Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) – RBC Likes Microsoft, Says Stock Now Worth $65 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) – Microsoft (MSFT) Stock Up on New Financial Reporting Structure