Citigroup Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) Stock

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) had its target price boosted by Citigroup from $157.00 to $194.00 in a research note released on Tuesday morning,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a neutral rating on the enterprise software provider’s stock.

Several other analysts have also recently weighed in on ORCL. Oppenheimer reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Oracle in a research note on Tuesday, September 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Oracle from $110.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, September 9th. Melius Research raised shares of Oracle from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, September 16th. UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of Oracle from $200.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, Evercore ISI upped their price objective on shares of Oracle from $190.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Oracle presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $181.48.

Oracle Stock Performance

NYSE:ORCL opened at $177.74 on Tuesday. Oracle has a 12-month low of $99.26 and a 12-month high of $198.31. The company has a quick ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 0.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.68. The firm has a market capitalization of $492.53 billion, a PE ratio of 45.81, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.49 and a beta of 1.03. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $179.76 and a 200 day moving average price of $154.67.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) last posted its quarterly 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). Oracle had a return on equity of 171.38% and a net margin of 20.40%. The business had revenue of $14.06 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.12 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.34 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.6% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts anticipate that Oracle will post 5.06 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Oracle Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 23rd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, January 9th will be issued a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.90%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, January 9th. Oracle’s dividend payout ratio is presently 41.24%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Maria Smith sold 6,320 shares of Oracle stock in a transaction on Monday, September 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $165.00, for a total transaction of $1,042,800.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 42,889 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,076,685. This trade represents a 12.84 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 42.20% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Oracle

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Fairway Wealth LLC bought a new position in shares of Oracle during the second quarter worth $27,000. POM Investment Strategies LLC bought a new position in shares of Oracle during the second quarter worth $30,000. Quest Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Oracle during the second quarter worth $40,000. Reston Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Oracle in the 3rd quarter valued at $44,000. Finally, Avondale Wealth Management bought a new stake in Oracle in the 3rd 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.