Stock Update: Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) – Microsoft Stock Still a Buy on Cloud Momentum (MSFT)

[at Investopedia] – While Microsoft shares don’t scream bargain today at near all-time highs, they won’t get cheaper, thanks to the company’s cloud momentum. Read more on this. Microsoft Corporation (MSFT) , with a current value of $440.55B, started the session at $56.29. Looking at the stock, its one day range is $55.67 to $56.49 with a one year range of $39.72 to $56.85. Priced at 20.51x this year’s forecasted earnings, MSFT shares are relatively inexpensive compared to the industry’s 21.02x forward p/e ratio. And for those looking to make a return holding the stock, the company pays shareholders $1.44 per share annually in dividends, yielding 2.59%. 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 $0.05 sequential decrease. Investors should also note that the full-year EPS estimate of $2.75 is a $0.29 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 $22.09 Billion. If realized, that would be a 1.66% increase over the year-ago quarter. More 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 $58.89, which is 4.62% above than it opened this morning. See more in (NASDAQ:MSFT) Similar Articles: Stock Update: Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) – Microsoft Earnings: Cloud Growth Shines Through As PC sales Play Spoil Sports Stock Update (NASDAQ:MSFT): Microsoft’s Earnings Are All About Cloud Momentum Stock Update: Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) – Analyst: 2016 will be a ‘206 area code street battle for the cloud’ and Microsoft could beat Amazon