Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) Shares Up 6.6% – What’s Next?

Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL)’s share price shot up 6.6% during trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $191.99 and last traded at $183.97. 25,686,918 shares changed hands during trading, an increase of 124% from the average session volume of 11,489,707 shares. The stock had previously closed at $172.57.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have issued reports on ORCL. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on shares of Oracle from $190.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. Sanford C. Bernstein lifted their price target on shares of Oracle from $201.00 to $202.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, September 30th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and issued a $165.00 price objective on shares of Oracle in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. Evercore ISI boosted their price target on Oracle from $190.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, Monness Crespi & Hardt lowered Oracle from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and set a $130.00 price objective for the company. in a research note on Friday, December 20th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating, seventeen have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Oracle presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $182.73.

Oracle Trading Down 1.5 %

The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $174.41 and its 200-day moving average price is $162.22. The company has a market cap of $513.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 44.89, a P/E/G ratio of 3.62 and a beta of 1.06. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.65, a current ratio of 0.81 and a quick ratio of 0.81.

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

Oracle Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 9th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, January 23rd were paid a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.87%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 10th. Oracle’s payout ratio is currently 39.12%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Oracle

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. R Squared Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Oracle in the 4th quarter worth $25,000. Winch Advisory Services LLC raised its position in Oracle by 89.7% in 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. Reston Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Oracle in the 3rd quarter valued at about $44,000. Synergy Asset Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Oracle during the 4th quarter valued at about $47,000. Finally, Avondale Wealth Management acquired a new position in shares of Oracle in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $51,000. Institutional investors 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.