Texas Instruments Raises Low End of Q1 Guidance (TXN)

in Gold Gold Investment Guidance by admin — March 9, 2010 6:57 am | no comments

Microchip maker Texas Instruments Incorporated ( TXN ) late Monday raised the low end of its first quarter guidance, and said it was struggling to keep up with higher-than-expected chip demand. The company said it now expects first quarter earnings of 48 to 52 cents per share, compared with prior guidance for 44 to 52 cents per share. It also forecast first quarter revenue to range from $3.07 billion to $3.19 billion, up from earlier estimates of $2.95 billion to $3.19 billion. On average, Wall Street analysts currently expect 49 cents per share for the quarter, on revenue of $3.084 billion. Despite the raised guidance, Texas Instruments shares fell 34 cents, or -1.4%, in premarket trading Tuesday. The Bottom Line We have avoided shares of TXN since our early 2008 June coverage began, when the stock was trading at $31.24. The company has a 1.94% dividend yield, based on last night’s closing stock price of $24.69. The stock has technical support in the $20-$22 price area. If the shares can firm up, we see overhead resistance around the $26-$27 price levels. We would remain on the sidelines for now. Texas Instruments Incorporated ( TXN ) is not recommended at this time, holding a Dividend.com DARS™ Rating of 3.4 out of 5 stars. Be sure to visit our complete recommended list of the Best Dividend Stocks , as well as a detailed explanation of our ratings system here .