Topic: How To Invest

What is Pat’s commentary for the week of January 21, 2014?

Article Excerpt

Some investors may be surprised to learn that we considered Microsoft Corp., $36.38, symbol MSFT on Nasdaq (Shares outstanding: 8.3 billion; Market cap: $303.7 billion; www.microsoft.com), as a candidate for our Wall Street Stock Forecaster “Stock of the Year” for 2014. These investors might come up with two reasons for their surprise. 1. “The stock’s been a dog for years.” This is true, but the analogy is misleading. Microsoft hit a peak around $60 a share in December 1999. From there it slumped for a couple of years, as did many tech stocks at the end of the 1990s Internet mania. It hit a low near $20 in 2002. Since then it has mostly stayed between $22 and $37, although it did hit a $15 low in the 2008-2009 market slump. During that 12-year period of stock-price stagnation, Microsoft’s per-share revenues nearly quadrupled, from $2.65 to more than $10. Its per-share cash flow and earnings roughly tripled. It instituted a dividend in 2003,…