Investors looking for a stable dividend stock with upside should take a look at MSCI Inc. (NYSE:MSCI).  The stock currently provides a dividend yield of 1.05% for the Technology company.  Sell-side analysts covering the shares are projecting that it will reach $230.67 within the next 12-18 months.  

This is a solid upside to a recent tick of $220.01.  On a consensus basis, analysts have a Buy/Sell rating of 2.40, which is based on a 1 to 5 scale where 1 represents a Strong Buy and 5 a Strong Sell. Investors are constantly trying to gain any little advantage when it comes to the stock market. Setting realistic goals and staying disciplined when trying to attain those goals can have a positive impact on an investor’s psyche and portfolio performance. Making a couple of badly timed trades can have a drastic effect on the mindset of the investor or trader. Sometimes, investors will have a few missteps that generally include buying when the market is too high, selling when the market is low, or being on the sidelines during a major charge higher. Staying disciplined can help the average investor avoid common pitfalls to help keep the focus in the right direction. When inevitable mistakes are made, investors will have the opportunity to learn from those mistakes and get back on the road to recovery.

Let’s take a look at how the stock has been performing recently.  Over the past twelve months, MSCI Inc. (NYSE:MSCI)’s stock was 49.23%.  Over the last week of the month, it was 1.08%, 15.67% over the last quarter, and  44.55% for the past six months.

Over the past 50 days, MSCI Inc. stock’s -4.52% off of the high and 15.84% removed from the low.  Their 52-Week High and Low are noted here.  -4.52% (High), 63.84%, (Low). 

FUNDAMENTAL ANALYSIS

Fundamental analysis examines the financial elements of a company, for example; sales, cash flow, profit and balance sheet.  These numbers are then crunched to create theoretical valuations of companies. 

Earnings Per Share (EPS) is the earnings made by a company divided by their number of shares.  EPS enables the earnings of a company to easily be compared to their competitors. The higher the number, the more profit per dollar is being made on investor capital.  MSCI Inc.’s EPS for the trailing 12 months is 6.42.  Their EPS should be compared to other companies in the Technology sector.

Price-to-Earnings Ratio is the current share price divided by annual earnings per share.  P/E provides a number that details how many years of earnings it will take a stock to recoup the value of one share at current price levels.  Easy to calculate and understand, P/E is an extremely common ratio that is used to compare valuations of stocks against each other relatively.  MSCI Inc.’s  P/E ratio is 34.25. 

Projected Earnings Growth (PEG) is a forward looking ratio based on anticipated earnings growth.  PEG is created by dividing P/E by the projected rate of earnings growth.  MSCI Inc.’s  PEG is 2.38.

TECHNICAL ANALYSIS

Technical analysts have little regard for the value of a company. They use historic price data to observe stock price patterns to predict the direction of that price going forward.  Analysts use common formulas and ratios to accomplish this.

MSCI Inc. (NYSE:MSCI)’s RSI (Relative Strength Index) is 49.94.  RSI is a technical indicator of price momentum, comparing the size of recent gains to the size of recent losses and establishes oversold and overbought positions.

Following all the day to day information regarding publically traded companies can be challenging. There is rarely any shortage of data that investors can examine when attempting to research specific stocks. One of the greatest challenges for the investor is determining which data to focus on and which data to set aside. Investors will often need to stay aware of happenings in the overall economic environment, and pay attention to global factors that may have a widespread impact on markets. Being aware of the macroeconomic picture can greatly help the investor when making important portfolio decisions.