Analysts Are Becoming Interested In Intel Corp. (NASDAQ:INTC) Again

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By Joseph Carducci on November 24, 2014 Company

Intel Corp. (NASDAQ:INTC) hosted their analysts day. The day brought good news for the analysts. An increasing number of analysts is taking interest in Intel Corp. (NASDAQ:INTC) once again. The reason being that Intel Corp. (NASDAQ:INTC) is no more focusing entirely on mobile. The company has now become the best-performing stock on the Dow Jones Industrial Average. Intel Corp. (NASDAQ:INTC) managed to achieve gains above 41%. Analysts and investors will no longer be able to ignore the company!

Analysts at Barron estimated that the company will rise another 30% to $48 in the coming two years. One of the reasons for the improved conditions of Intel Corp. (NASDAQ:INTC) is the dividend hike. Another reason is that Microsoft Corp. (NASDAQ:MSFT) withdrew their support for Windows XP, resulting in a change in demand and trends in the market for 2014 fiscal. The WinTel alliance did not amount to much lately. However, as Microsoft Corp. (NASDAQ:MSFT) left support for Windows XP, the enterprise spending was shifted to Windows 7. As a result, a demand for more powerful processors was created in the market.

Besides the increased demand for higher processors and powerful computers, Intel Corp. (NASDAQ:INTC)’s dividend yield of 2.7% will bring it back up in the top-performing stocks at DJIA. This will be a high dividend yield for Intel Corp. (NASDAQ:INTC), which will achieve a ranking of 15 among 70 tech stocks.

At the analysts day, Intel Corp. (NASDAQ:INTC) gave their guidance for 2015; they estimate their revenues to grow somewhere between 4 and 6% in the next fiscal. Gross margins are estimated to be 62% while the research and development and MG&A expenditure, as percentage of the revenue, is expected to fall to $20 billion. The capital spending in the next fiscal will be around $10.5 billion. The hike of dividend was the biggest surprise of the year. In 2013 and earlier this year, some reports suggested that Intel Corp. (NASDAQ:INTC) may not be able to generate enough money for payout.

Intel Corp. (NASDAQ:INTC) is only partway through its doubling process of five years. The company trades with a 7% discount to S&P 500. The stock of the company is still not popular and will be winning favorable ratings soon.

FBR Capitals Markets still maintained its Outperform ratings. The firm raised its ratings from $36 to $40. According to the predictions of J.P.Morgan, Intel Corp. (NASDAQ:INTC) will end the next year at $3.00 per share. Stifle’s rating is at buy. The target priced of Stifle was increased from $36 to $39. The Bank of America Merrill Lynch maintained its rating at buy before the analysts day. Its price target is $43.

The lesser aggressive firms also changed their views. The RBC Capitals market only had a Sector Perform Rating. However, it still raised its price target by $3, from $35 to $38. Cowen, meanwhile, has a rating of Market Perform. It also increased its target price though, from $34 to $36.