Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) Trading 0.8% Higher – Still a Buy?

Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) rose 0.8% during trading on Monday . The company traded as high as $168.05 and last traded at $167.61. Approximately 2,052,821 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 53% from the average daily volume of 4,357,997 shares. The stock had previously closed at $166.32.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Bank of America lifted their price target on Oracle from $155.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 10th. TD Cowen upped their target price on shares of Oracle from $165.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 10th. JMP Securities reissued a “market outperform” rating and set a $205.00 price target on shares of Oracle in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and set a $165.00 target price on shares of Oracle in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. Finally, Guggenheim boosted their price target on Oracle from $200.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating, seventeen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $181.48.

Oracle Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.65, a current ratio of 0.81 and a quick ratio of 0.72. The business has a 50-day moving average of $178.25 and a 200-day moving average of $160.59. The company has a market capitalization of $456.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.89, a P/E/G ratio of 3.39 and a beta of 1.06.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) last released its earnings results on Monday, December 9th. The enterprise software provider reported $1.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.48 by ($0.01). Oracle had a return on equity of 133.25% and a net margin of 21.16%. The firm had revenue of $14.06 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.12 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.34 EPS. Oracle’s revenue was up 8.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Oracle Co. will post 5.03 EPS for the current year.

Oracle Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 9th. Investors of record on Thursday, January 23rd will be issued a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.98%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 10th. Oracle’s payout ratio is currently 39.12%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ORCL. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Oracle by 5.3% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 2,416,362 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $411,748,000 after buying an additional 121,874 shares in the last quarter. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. lifted its stake in Oracle by 15.3% in the second quarter. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. now owns 24,800 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $3,502,000 after acquiring an additional 3,300 shares during the period. Chase Investment Counsel Corp bought a new position in Oracle during the 3rd quarter worth about $4,160,000. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. increased its position in Oracle by 79.6% during the 3rd quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. now owns 286,460 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $48,813,000 after purchasing an additional 126,985 shares during the period. Finally, Lord Abbett & CO. LLC lifted its position in shares of Oracle by 84.5% in the 3rd quarter. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC now owns 863,883 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $147,206,000 after purchasing an additional 395,613 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 42.44% of the company’s stock.

Oracle Company Profile

Oracle Corporation offers products and services that address enterprise information technology environments worldwide. Its Oracle cloud software as a service offering include various cloud software applications, including Oracle Fusion cloud enterprise resource planning (ERP), Oracle Fusion cloud enterprise performance management, Oracle Fusion cloud supply chain and manufacturing management, Oracle Fusion cloud human capital management, Oracle Cerner healthcare, Oracle Advertising, and NetSuite applications suite, as well as Oracle Fusion Sales, Service, and Marketing.