Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) Trading Up 0% – Still a Buy?

Shares of Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) traded up 0% on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $171.75 and last traded at $171.47. 664,640 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 92% from the average session volume of 8,369,196 shares. The stock had previously closed at $171.41.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently issued reports on ORCL. TD Cowen upped their price target on Oracle from $165.00 to $180.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 10th. Barclays raised their target price on Oracle from $160.00 to $172.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 10th. KeyCorp upped their price target on shares of Oracle from $190.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on Oracle from $155.00 to $175.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on Oracle from $190.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, December 5th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating, seventeen have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $181.48.

Oracle Trading Down 1.6 %

The stock’s 50 day moving average is $179.37 and its 200-day moving average is $159.04. The company has a market capitalization of $472.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 41.31, a P/E/G ratio of 3.39 and a beta of 1.03. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.65, a current ratio of 0.81 and a quick ratio of 0.72.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) last issued its earnings results on Monday, December 9th. The enterprise software provider reported $1.47 earnings per share (EPS) 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 quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.34 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Oracle Co. will post 5.03 earnings per share for the current year.

Oracle Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 9th. Investors of record on Thursday, January 23rd will be paid a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.95%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, January 9th. Oracle’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 39.12%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Oracle

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Fairway Wealth LLC purchased a new position in Oracle in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $27,000. Quest Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Oracle during the second quarter valued at approximately $40,000. Reston Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Oracle in the third quarter worth $44,000. Avondale Wealth Management bought a new position in shares of Oracle during the third quarter worth $51,000. Finally, Friedenthal Financial purchased a new position in Oracle during the third quarter valued at $51,000. 42.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.