Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) Stock Price Up 0.8% – Time to Buy?

Shares of Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) rose 0.8% during mid-day 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 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 Analyst Weigh In

ORCL has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Melius Research upgraded shares of Oracle from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, September 16th. Monness Crespi & Hardt cut shares of Oracle from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and set a $130.00 price target for the company. in a report on Friday, December 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Oracle from $110.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, September 9th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Oracle from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, Evercore ISI upped their price objective on shares of Oracle from $190.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. 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 stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $181.48.

Oracle Price 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 company’s 50 day moving average price is $178.62 and its 200 day moving average price is $160.29. The firm has a market capitalization of $462.56 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.44, a PEG ratio of 3.39 and a beta of 1.06.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) last announced 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). Oracle had a net margin of 21.16% and a return on equity of 133.25%. The business had revenue of $14.06 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.12 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.34 earnings per share. Oracle’s revenue was up 8.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Oracle Co. will post 5.03 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Oracle Dividend Announcement

The firm 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.97%. Oracle’s payout ratio is presently 39.12%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Oracle

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Fairway Wealth LLC bought a new position in shares of Oracle during the second quarter worth $27,000. Reston Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Oracle during the third quarter worth $44,000. Quest Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Oracle during the second quarter worth $40,000. Avondale Wealth Management bought a new position in shares of Oracle during the third quarter worth $51,000. Finally, Friedenthal Financial bought a new position in shares of Oracle during the third quarter worth $51,000. 42.44% of the stock is owned by 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.