Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) Rating Increased to Buy at Citigroup

Key Points

• Oracle has been upgraded by Citigroup from a "neutral" to a "buy" rating, with a price target of $410, suggesting a potential upside of 69.65% from its current price.
• Several other analysts have also increased their price targets for Oracle, with a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $268.52.
• In the latest quarter, Oracle reported a 11.3% year-over-year revenue increase, surpassing analysts' expectations with earnings of $1.70 per share against a $1.64 consensus estimate.

Citigroup upgraded shares of Oracle (NYSE:ORCL - Free Report) from a neutral rating to a buy rating in a research note published on Wednesday morning, Marketbeat.com reports. The brokerage currently has $410.00 target price on the enterprise software provider's stock, up from their prior target price of $240.00.

Several other equities analysts have also issued reports on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Oracle from $185.00 to $210.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, September 8th. Bank of America raised Oracle from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and raised their target price for the company from $295.00 to $368.00 in a research report on Wednesday. Loop Capital set a $135.00 price target on shares of Oracle in a report on Tuesday, June 10th. Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on shares of Oracle from $270.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Guggenheim increased their target price on shares of Oracle from $250.00 to $375.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-five have issued a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Oracle presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $296.84.

Oracle Stock Down 5.1%

NYSE ORCL traded down $15.79 on Wednesday, reaching $292.07. The company had a trading volume of 51,618,969 shares, compared to its average volume of 20,941,788. Oracle has a 52-week low of $118.86 and a 52-week high of $345.72. The company has a quick ratio of 0.75, a current ratio of 0.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.33. The stock has a market capitalization of $820.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 67.61, a P/E/G ratio of 4.10 and a beta of 1.46. The company's fifty day moving average is $244.69 and its 200 day moving average is $190.37.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, June 11th. The enterprise software provider reported $1.70 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.64 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $15.90 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $15.58 billion. Oracle had a net margin of 21.08% and a return on equity of 72.93%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 11.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.63 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Oracle will post 5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Oracle Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 23rd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 9th will be issued a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, October 9th. Oracle's dividend payout ratio is presently 46.30%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Maria Smith sold 10,000 shares of Oracle stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $232.99, for a total transaction of $2,329,900.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 40,807 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,507,622.93. This trade represents a 19.68% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Michael D. Sicilia sold 15,880 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $254.48, for a total transaction of $4,041,142.40. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 99,212 shares in the company, valued at $25,247,469.76. This represents a 13.80% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 44,183 shares of company stock worth $10,353,198. Company insiders own 42.20% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Oracle

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in ORCL. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Oracle in the 1st quarter worth about $27,000. Inlight Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Oracle in the first quarter worth approximately $28,000. Winnow Wealth LLC bought a new position in Oracle during the second quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Iron Horse Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Oracle by 284.9% during the first quarter. Iron Horse Wealth Management LLC now owns 204 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 151 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sunbeam Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Oracle in the 4th quarter worth approximately $30,000. 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.