Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) Stock Price Up 0% – Still a Buy?

Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL)’s stock price traded up 0% during trading on Thursday . The company traded as high as $171.75 and last traded at $171.47. 664,640 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 92% from the average session volume of 8,369,196 shares. The stock had previously closed at $171.41.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on ORCL shares. Bank of America raised their price target on shares of Oracle from $155.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 10th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on Oracle from $155.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. TD Cowen upped their target price on Oracle from $165.00 to $180.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 10th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on shares of Oracle from $190.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, December 5th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein raised their target price on shares of Oracle from $201.00 to $202.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, September 30th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating, seventeen have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $181.48.

Oracle Price Performance

The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $179.57 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $158.64. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.65, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a current ratio of 0.81. The stock has a market capitalization of $480.52 billion, a P/E ratio of 42.00, a PEG ratio of 3.39 and a beta of 1.03.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, December 9th. The enterprise software provider reported $1.47 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 company had revenue of $14.06 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.12 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.34 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts expect that Oracle Co. will post 5.03 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Oracle Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 9th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, January 23rd will be paid a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.93%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, January 9th. Oracle’s payout ratio is 39.12%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Oracle

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Fairway Wealth LLC purchased a new position in Oracle in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $27,000. Reston Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Oracle during the third quarter valued at $44,000. Quest Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Oracle in the second quarter worth about $40,000. Avondale Wealth Management purchased a new position in Oracle during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $51,000. Finally, Friedenthal Financial bought a new stake in Oracle in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $51,000. 42.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Oracle

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.