Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) Trading Up 6.6% – Time to Buy?

Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL)’s share price traded up 6.6% during trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $191.99 and last traded at $183.97. 25,686,918 shares were traded during trading, an increase of 124% from the average session volume of 11,489,707 shares. The stock had previously closed at $172.57.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently weighed in on ORCL. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $165.00 price objective on shares of Oracle in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. Monness Crespi & Hardt downgraded shares of Oracle from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and set a $130.00 target price on the stock. in a report on Friday, December 20th. BNP Paribas upgraded shares of Oracle to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on Oracle from $190.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, December 5th. Finally, Evercore ISI raised their price target on Oracle from $190.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating, seventeen have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $182.73.

Oracle Trading Down 1.5 %

The stock has a market cap of $513.50 billion, a PE ratio of 44.89, a PEG ratio of 3.62 and a beta of 1.06. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.65, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a current ratio of 0.81. The business has a 50-day moving average of $174.41 and a 200 day moving average of $162.22.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) last announced its earnings results 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). Oracle had a return on equity of 133.25% and a net margin of 21.16%. The firm had revenue of $14.06 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.12 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.34 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 8.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts predict that Oracle Co. will post 5.01 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Oracle Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 9th. Investors of record on Thursday, January 23rd were given a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 10th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.87%. Oracle’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 39.12%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Oracle

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its stake 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 valued at $411,748,000 after buying an additional 121,874 shares during the period. RMR Wealth Builders raised its holdings in shares of Oracle by 383.4% in the 4th quarter. RMR Wealth Builders now owns 7,155 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $1,192,000 after purchasing an additional 5,675 shares during the period. Chase Investment Counsel Corp acquired a new position in shares of Oracle in the 3rd quarter valued at about $4,160,000. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Oracle by 79.6% during the 3rd quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. now owns 286,460 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $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% during 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 in the last quarter. 42.44% of the stock is currently 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.