Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) Stock Price Up 0.1% – Should You Buy?

Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL)’s share price rose 0.1% during trading on Friday . The company traded as high as $167.20 and last traded at $166.19. Approximately 1,685,395 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 51% from the average daily volume of 3,467,897 shares. The stock had previously closed at $166.03.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have weighed in on ORCL. Monness Crespi & Hardt cut shares of Oracle from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and set a $130.00 price objective on the stock. in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Guggenheim lifted their price target on Oracle from $200.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, December 5th. Sanford C. Bernstein increased their price objective on Oracle from $201.00 to $202.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, September 30th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on Oracle from $173.00 to $205.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, DA Davidson increased their price target on shares of Oracle from $140.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating, seventeen have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $181.48.

Oracle Trading Up 0.2 %

The company has a market capitalization of $465.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.67, a P/E/G ratio of 3.39 and a beta of 1.03. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $178.62 and a 200 day simple moving average of $160.18. 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 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). The company had revenue of $14.06 billion for 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 revenue was up 8.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.34 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Oracle Co. will post 5.03 earnings per share for the current year.

Oracle Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 23rd. Investors of record on Friday, January 10th will be given a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.96%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 10th. Oracle’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 39.12%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Oracle

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ORCL. Fairway Wealth LLC acquired a new position in shares of Oracle in the second quarter valued at $27,000. Quest Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Oracle in the 2nd quarter valued at $40,000. Reston Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Oracle during the 3rd quarter worth about $44,000. Avondale Wealth Management acquired a new stake in shares of Oracle during the 3rd quarter valued at about $51,000. Finally, Friedenthal Financial bought a new stake in Oracle in the third quarter valued at about $51,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 42.44% of the company’s stock.

About Oracle

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.