Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) Issues Q4 Earnings Guidance

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

Several brokerages recently commented on ORCL. DA Davidson raised their target price on Oracle from $140.00 to $150.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Guggenheim reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $220.00 target price on shares of Oracle in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. JMP Securities restated a “market outperform” rating and issued a $205.00 price objective on shares of Oracle in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on shares of Oracle from $173.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $165.00 price objective on shares of Oracle in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nineteen have assigned 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 an average target price of $182.73.

Oracle Trading Down 4.1 %

ORCL stock traded down $6.29 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $148.87. 20,698,405 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 11,830,782. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.65, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a current ratio of 0.81. The company has a market cap 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 one year low of $111.18 and a one year high of $198.31. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $167.27 and its 200-day moving average price is $169.58.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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 business had revenue of $14.06 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.12 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.34 earnings per share. Oracle’s revenue was up 8.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts predict that Oracle will post 5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Oracle Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 23rd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 10th will be given a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.34%. This is an increase from Oracle’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. Oracle’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 39.12%.

Insider Transactions at Oracle

In related news, CEO Safra Catz sold 2,101,154 shares of Oracle stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $185.35, for a total transaction of $389,448,893.90. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,118,592 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $207,331,027.20. This trade represents a 65.26 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 42.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Oracle

A hedge fund recently raised its stake in Oracle stock. Brighton Jones LLC increased its holdings in Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) by 189.3% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 153,580 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 100,494 shares during the quarter. Oracle makes up 0.7% of Brighton Jones LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 20th biggest holding. Brighton Jones LLC’s holdings in Oracle were worth $25,593,000 as of its most recent SEC filing. 42.44% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other 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.