Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) Stock Price Up 0.4% – Should You Buy?

Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) rose 0.4% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The company traded as high as $168.69 and last traded at $167.25. Approximately 1,133,101 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 86% from the average daily volume of 8,338,902 shares. The stock had previously closed at $166.64.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Sanford C. Bernstein boosted their target price on shares of Oracle from $201.00 to $202.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, September 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Oracle from $110.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, September 9th. JMP Securities restated a “market outperform” rating and issued a $205.00 price objective on shares of Oracle in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on Oracle from $155.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, Guggenheim increased their target price on shares of Oracle from $200.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating, seventeen have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $181.48.

Oracle Stock Up 0.2 %

The company has a market cap of $465.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.39 and a beta of 1.03. 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 stock has a fifty day moving average price of $178.62 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $160.07.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, December 9th. The enterprise software provider reported $1.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.48 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $14.06 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.12 billion. Oracle had a return on equity of 133.25% and a net margin of 21.16%. Oracle’s revenue was up 8.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.34 earnings per share. On average, research analysts expect that Oracle Co. will post 5.03 EPS for the current year.

Oracle Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 9th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, January 23rd will be paid a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 10th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.96%. Oracle’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 39.12%.

Institutional Trading of Oracle

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its stake in Oracle by 5.3% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 2,416,362 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $411,748,000 after acquiring an additional 121,874 shares during the last quarter. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. raised its holdings in shares of Oracle by 15.3% in the 2nd quarter. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. now owns 24,800 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $3,502,000 after purchasing an additional 3,300 shares during the period. Chase Investment Counsel Corp purchased a new position in Oracle in the third quarter valued at approximately $4,160,000. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. grew its holdings in Oracle by 79.6% during the third 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 increased its position in Oracle by 84.5% in the third quarter. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC now owns 863,883 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $147,206,000 after buying an additional 395,613 shares during the last quarter. 42.44% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.