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Microsoft (MSFT) Gains As Market Dips: What You Should Know
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Microsoft (MSFT - Free Report) closed at $108.74 in the latest trading session, marking a +0.32% move from the prior day. The stock outpaced the S&P 500's daily loss of 0.37%. Meanwhile, the Dow gained 0.08%, and the Nasdaq, a tech-heavy index, lost 0.91%.
Prior to today's trading, shares of the software maker had lost 0.91% over the past month. This has lagged the Computer and Technology sector's gain of 1.44% and the S&P 500's gain of 1.96% in that time.
Investors will be hoping for strength from MSFT as it approaches its next earnings release, which is expected to be October 25, 2018. On that day, MSFT is projected to report earnings of $0.96 per share, which would represent year-over-year growth of 14.29%. Meanwhile, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for revenue is projecting net sales of $27.83 billion, up 13.4% from the year-ago period.
For the full year, our Zacks Consensus Estimates are projecting earnings of $4.25 per share and revenue of $122.36 billion, which would represent changes of +9.54% and +10.88%, respectively, from the prior year.
Investors might also notice recent changes to analyst estimates for MSFT. These recent revisions tend to reflect the evolving nature of short-term business trends. As such, positive estimate revisions reflect analyst optimism about the company's business and profitability.
Our research shows that these estimate changes are directly correlated with near-term stock prices. To benefit from this, we have developed the Zacks Rank, a proprietary model which takes these estimate changes into account and provides an actionable rating system.
The Zacks Rank system ranges from #1 (Strong Buy) to #5 (Strong Sell). It has a remarkable, outside-audited track record of success, with #1 stocks delivering an average annual return of +25% since 1988. Over the past month, the Zacks Consensus EPS estimate remained stagnant. MSFT is currently a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).
Looking at its valuation, MSFT is holding a Forward P/E ratio of 25.55. This represents a discount compared to its industry's average Forward P/E of 34.73.
Investors should also note that MSFT has a PEG ratio of 2.07 right now. The PEG ratio is similar to the widely-used P/E ratio, but this metric also takes the company's expected earnings growth rate into account. MSFT's industry had an average PEG ratio of 2.3 as of yesterday's close.
The Computer - Software industry is part of the Computer and Technology sector. This group has a Zacks Industry Rank of 48, putting it in the top 19% of all 250+ industries.
The Zacks Industry Rank gauges the strength of our industry groups by measuring the average Zacks Rank of the individual stocks within the groups. Our research shows that the top 50% rated industries outperform the bottom half by a factor of 2 to 1.
You can find more information on all of these metrics, and much more, on Zacks.com.
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Microsoft (MSFT) Gains As Market Dips: What You Should Know
Microsoft (MSFT - Free Report) closed at $108.74 in the latest trading session, marking a +0.32% move from the prior day. The stock outpaced the S&P 500's daily loss of 0.37%. Meanwhile, the Dow gained 0.08%, and the Nasdaq, a tech-heavy index, lost 0.91%.
Prior to today's trading, shares of the software maker had lost 0.91% over the past month. This has lagged the Computer and Technology sector's gain of 1.44% and the S&P 500's gain of 1.96% in that time.
Investors will be hoping for strength from MSFT as it approaches its next earnings release, which is expected to be October 25, 2018. On that day, MSFT is projected to report earnings of $0.96 per share, which would represent year-over-year growth of 14.29%. Meanwhile, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for revenue is projecting net sales of $27.83 billion, up 13.4% from the year-ago period.
For the full year, our Zacks Consensus Estimates are projecting earnings of $4.25 per share and revenue of $122.36 billion, which would represent changes of +9.54% and +10.88%, respectively, from the prior year.
Investors might also notice recent changes to analyst estimates for MSFT. These recent revisions tend to reflect the evolving nature of short-term business trends. As such, positive estimate revisions reflect analyst optimism about the company's business and profitability.
Our research shows that these estimate changes are directly correlated with near-term stock prices. To benefit from this, we have developed the Zacks Rank, a proprietary model which takes these estimate changes into account and provides an actionable rating system.
The Zacks Rank system ranges from #1 (Strong Buy) to #5 (Strong Sell). It has a remarkable, outside-audited track record of success, with #1 stocks delivering an average annual return of +25% since 1988. Over the past month, the Zacks Consensus EPS estimate remained stagnant. MSFT is currently a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).
Looking at its valuation, MSFT is holding a Forward P/E ratio of 25.55. This represents a discount compared to its industry's average Forward P/E of 34.73.
Investors should also note that MSFT has a PEG ratio of 2.07 right now. The PEG ratio is similar to the widely-used P/E ratio, but this metric also takes the company's expected earnings growth rate into account. MSFT's industry had an average PEG ratio of 2.3 as of yesterday's close.
The Computer - Software industry is part of the Computer and Technology sector. This group has a Zacks Industry Rank of 48, putting it in the top 19% of all 250+ industries.
The Zacks Industry Rank gauges the strength of our industry groups by measuring the average Zacks Rank of the individual stocks within the groups. Our research shows that the top 50% rated industries outperform the bottom half by a factor of 2 to 1.
You can find more information on all of these metrics, and much more, on Zacks.com.