SYMANTEC CORP. $23.79 - Nasdaq symbol SYMC

SYMANTEC CORP. $23.79 (Nasdaq symbol SYMC; TSINetwork Rating: Average)(408-517-8000; www.symantec.com; Shares outstanding: 682.4 million; Market cap: $16.3 billion; Dividend yield: 2.5%) sells computersecurity technology, including antivirus and emailfiltering software, to businesses and consumers.

In its fiscal 2015 third quarter, which ended January 2, 2015, Symantec earned $367 million, unchanged from a year earlier. However, per-share earnings rose 1.9%, to $0.53 from $0.52, on fewer shares outstanding.

Revenue slipped 3.9%, to $1.64 billion from $1.71 billion. But if you disregard the negative impact of the high U.S. dollar on the company’s overseas sales, revenue was flat.

Symantec recently cancelled some unprofitable deals to preinstall software on new computers. That has hurt its revenue. Its plan to simplify its product lines and sell software as a subscription instead of a one-time purchase has also dampened its growth.

The company now expects to earn $1.87 to $1.90 a share for all of fiscal 2015, and the stock trades at 12.6 times the midpoint of that range. That’s a low p/e ratio in light of Symantec’s high research spending (16.3% of revenue in the latest quarter).

Symantec still plans to split into two publicly traded firms. One will keep the Symantec name and focus on antivirus and security software and services. The other, called Veritas Technologies, will consist of Symantec’s information-management operations, which make products for data backup and recovery. The company expects to complete the breakup by the end of 2015, but it could sell Veritas outright even sooner if it gets a good offer.

Symantec is a buy.

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