Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) Given Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” by Analysts

Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) has been given an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the thirty ratings firms that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, ten have assigned a hold recommendation, seventeen have issued a buy recommendation and two have assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month price objective among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $182.73.

Several research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $165.00 target price on shares of Oracle in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. UBS Group upped their target price on shares of Oracle from $200.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Sanford C. Bernstein upped 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. Evercore ISI upped their target price on shares of Oracle from $190.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald assumed coverage on shares of Oracle in a research report on Friday, January 17th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $214.00 target price for the company.

Oracle Stock Down 13.9 %

ORCL opened at $158.10 on Thursday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $174.41 and a 200-day moving average price of $162.79. The firm has a market capitalization of $442.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.65, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.62 and a beta of 1.06. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.65, a current ratio of 0.81 and a quick ratio of 0.81. Oracle has a one year low of $106.51 and a one year high of $198.31.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, December 9th. The enterprise software provider reported $1.47 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.48 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $14.06 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.12 billion. Oracle had a net margin of 21.16% and a return on equity of 133.25%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.34 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that Oracle will post 5.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Oracle Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 9th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, January 23rd were issued a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 10th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.01%. Oracle’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 39.12%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Oracle news, CEO Safra Catz sold 345,174 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $185.56, for a total transaction of $64,050,487.44. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 1,118,592 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $207,565,931.52. This trade represents a 23.58 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 42.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Oracle

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in ORCL. R Squared Ltd bought a new position in shares of Oracle during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Winch Advisory Services LLC increased its stake in shares of Oracle by 89.7% during the fourth 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 in the last quarter. Reston Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Oracle during the third quarter valued at approximately $44,000. Synergy Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Oracle during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $47,000. Finally, Avondale Wealth Management bought a new stake in shares of Oracle during the third quarter valued at approximately $51,000. 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.