Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) Trading 1.4% Higher – What’s Next?

Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) shares shot up 1.4% during trading on Thursday . The company traded as high as $160.66 and last traded at $160.55. 2,256,379 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 70% from the average session volume of 7,597,765 shares. The stock had previously closed at $158.31.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have weighed in on ORCL. Sanford C. Bernstein boosted their price objective on Oracle from $201.00 to $202.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, September 30th. Mizuho boosted their price target on shares of Oracle from $185.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Citigroup raised their price objective on shares of Oracle from $157.00 to $194.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. KeyCorp boosted their target price on shares of Oracle from $190.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of Oracle from $145.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating, seventeen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $181.48.

Oracle Price Performance

The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $176.99 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $161.24. The firm has a market capitalization of $447.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.07, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.03 and a beta of 1.06. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.65, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a current ratio of 0.81.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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). Oracle had a return on equity of 133.25% and a net margin of 21.16%. The company had revenue of $14.06 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.12 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.34 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Oracle Co. will post 5.01 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Oracle Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 9th. Investors of record on Thursday, January 23rd were paid a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 10th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.00%. Oracle’s dividend payout ratio is presently 39.12%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Oracle

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Winch Advisory Services LLC raised 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 worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 87 shares in the last quarter. Quest Partners LLC purchased a new position in Oracle in the 2nd quarter worth $40,000. Reston Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Oracle in the third quarter worth $44,000. Avondale Wealth Management purchased a new stake in Oracle during the third quarter valued at about $51,000. Finally, Friedenthal Financial bought a new position in shares of Oracle during the third quarter valued at about $51,000. 42.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.