Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) Short Interest Down 11.8% in February

Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) saw a large decrease in short interest during the month of February. As of February 15th, there was short interest totalling 24,000,000 shares, a decrease of 11.8% from the January 31st total of 27,220,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 10,650,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.3 days. Currently, 1.5% of the company’s stock are sold short.

Oracle Price Performance

Shares of ORCL traded down $10.44 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $151.12. The stock had a trading volume of 9,007,490 shares, compared to its average volume of 11,517,834. The business has a fifty day moving average of $168.31 and a 200 day moving average of $169.10. 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 firm has a market cap of $422.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.95, a PEG ratio of 3.46 and a beta of 1.07. Oracle has a 12 month low of $111.18 and a 12 month high of $198.31.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) last issued its earnings results on Monday, December 9th. The enterprise software provider reported $1.47 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.48 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $14.06 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.12 billion. Oracle had a return on equity of 133.25% and a net margin of 21.16%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 8.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.34 EPS. Equities analysts predict that Oracle will post 5 EPS for the current year.

Oracle Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 9th. Investors of record on Thursday, January 23rd were paid a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.06%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 10th. Oracle’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 39.12%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Safra Catz sold 2,101,154 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $185.35, for a total transaction of $389,448,893.90. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,118,592 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $207,331,027.20. This represents a 65.26 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 42.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. R Squared Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Oracle in the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Sunbeam Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Oracle in the 4th quarter worth $30,000. Winch Advisory Services LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Oracle by 89.7% during the 4th quarter. Winch Advisory Services LLC now owns 184 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 87 shares during the last quarter. Hurley Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of Oracle during the fourth quarter valued at about $33,000. Finally, Synergy Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Oracle in the fourth quarter worth about $34,000. 42.44% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ORCL has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and set a $165.00 price target on shares of Oracle in a report on Thursday, December 5th. StockNews.com downgraded Oracle from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. UBS Group boosted their price target on Oracle from $200.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on Oracle from $190.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. Finally, JMP Securities reissued a “market outperform” rating and issued a $205.00 target price on shares of Oracle in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Twelve research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eighteen have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $182.73.

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.