Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) Updates Q4 Earnings Guidance

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) issued an update on its fourth quarter earnings guidance on Monday morning. The company provided earnings per share guidance of $1.61-1.65 for the period, compared to the consensus earnings per share estimate of $1.79. The company issued revenue guidance of $15.43-15.72 billion, compared to the consensus revenue estimate of $15.91 billion.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ORCL has been the topic of several analyst reports. BNP Paribas upgraded Oracle to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Piper Sandler lifted their target price on Oracle from $185.00 to $210.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. KeyCorp lifted their target price on Oracle from $190.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, November 15th. StockNews.com downgraded Oracle from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Finally, Monness Crespi & Hardt upgraded Oracle from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nineteen have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Oracle currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $182.73.

Oracle Stock Performance

ORCL stock traded down $6.29 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $148.87. 20,698,405 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 11,830,782. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $167.27 and a 200-day simple moving average of $169.58. The company has a current ratio of 0.81, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.65. The stock has a market capitalization of $416.38 billion, a PE ratio of 36.40, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.46 and a beta of 1.07. Oracle has a 1-year low of $111.18 and a 1-year high of $198.31.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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). Oracle had a return on equity of 133.25% and a net margin of 21.16%. The company had revenue of $14.06 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.12 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.34 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 8.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts forecast that Oracle will post 5 earnings per share for the current year.

Oracle Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 23rd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. This is a boost from Oracle’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.34%. Oracle’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 39.12%.

Insider Transactions at Oracle

In other Oracle news, CEO Safra Catz sold 2,101,154 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on 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 owns 1,118,592 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $207,331,027.20. The trade was a 65.26 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 42.20% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Oracle

A hedge fund recently raised its stake in Oracle stock. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its position in Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) by 189.3% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 153,580 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock after buying an additional 100,494 shares during the period. Oracle makes up 0.7% of Brighton Jones LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 20th biggest holding. Brighton Jones LLC’s holdings in Oracle were worth $25,593,000 at the end of the most recent quarter. 42.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.