Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) Trading 1.3% Higher – Still a Buy?

Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL)’s share price rose 1.3% during trading on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $171.77 and last traded at $171.41. Approximately 886,052 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 89% from the average daily volume of 8,393,524 shares. The stock had previously closed at $169.14.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on ORCL. Bank of America increased their target price on Oracle from $155.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 10th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Oracle from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. KeyCorp boosted their target price on shares of Oracle from $190.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Citigroup raised their price target on shares of Oracle from $157.00 to $194.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, DA Davidson boosted their price objective on Oracle from $140.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating, seventeen have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $181.48.

Oracle Price Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $479.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 41.91, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.39 and a beta of 1.03. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $179.57 and a 200 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.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) last released 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 in the prior year, the firm posted $1.34 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 8.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts expect that Oracle Co. will post 5.03 EPS for the current year.

Oracle Announces Dividend

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 given a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.93%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, January 9th. Oracle’s payout ratio is 39.12%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

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