Guggenheim Reiterates Buy Rating for Oracle (NYSE:ORCL)

Guggenheim reiterated their buy rating on shares of Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) in a research report released on Wednesday morning,Benzinga reports. Guggenheim currently has a $220.00 price objective on the enterprise software provider’s stock.

Several other research firms have also recently commented on ORCL. 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. BNP Paribas upgraded shares of Oracle to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Evercore ISI boosted their price target on shares of Oracle from $190.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Citigroup boosted their price target on shares of Oracle from $157.00 to $194.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, Piper Sandler upped their target price on shares of Oracle from $185.00 to $210.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eighteen have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $182.73.

Oracle Trading Up 3.3 %

NYSE ORCL opened at $155.89 on Wednesday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $167.63 and a 200-day simple moving average of $169.10. 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 has a one year low of $111.18 and a one year high of $198.31. The firm has a market cap of $436.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.11, a PEG ratio of 3.46 and a beta of 1.07.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, December 9th. The enterprise software provider reported $1.47 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 firm had revenue of $14.06 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.12 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.34 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 8.6% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts anticipate that Oracle will post 5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Oracle Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 9th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, January 23rd were given a dividend of $0.40 per share. 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 1.03%. Oracle’s payout ratio is currently 39.12%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Oracle news, CEO Safra Catz sold 2,101,154 shares of the company’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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 1,118,592 shares in the company, valued at approximately $207,331,027.20. This represents a 65.26 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 42.20% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Oracle

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. R Squared Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Oracle during the 4th quarter worth $25,000. Sunbeam Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Oracle during the 4th quarter worth $30,000. Winch Advisory Services LLC grew its stake in shares of Oracle by 89.7% during the 4th quarter. Winch Advisory Services LLC now owns 184 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 87 shares during the period. Hurley Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Oracle during the 4th quarter worth $33,000. Finally, Synergy Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Oracle during the 4th quarter worth $34,000. Hedge funds and other 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.