Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) Issues Q4 Earnings Guidance

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

Oracle Stock Down 4.1 %

Shares of NYSE ORCL traded down $6.29 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $148.87. 20,698,405 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 11,830,782. 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 has a 1-year low of $111.18 and a 1-year high of $198.31. The stock has a market cap of $416.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.40, a PEG ratio of 3.46 and a beta of 1.07. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $167.27 and a 200 day simple moving average of $169.58.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, December 9th. The enterprise software provider reported $1.47 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.48 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $14.06 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.12 billion. Oracle had a net margin of 21.16% and a return on equity of 133.25%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.34 earnings per share. On average, analysts expect that Oracle will post 5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Oracle Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 23rd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 10th will be given a dividend of $0.50 per share. This is a positive change from Oracle’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.34%. Oracle’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 39.12%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ORCL has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Cantor Fitzgerald downgraded shares of Oracle to an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, February 10th. Guggenheim reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $220.00 target price on shares of Oracle in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on Oracle from $155.00 to $175.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. StockNews.com lowered Oracle from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on shares of Oracle from $173.00 to $205.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nineteen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $182.73.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Oracle news, CEO Safra Catz sold 345,174 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, January 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $185.56, for a total transaction of $64,050,487.44. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,118,592 shares in the company, valued at approximately $207,565,931.52. This trade represents a 23.58 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 42.20% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Oracle

A hedge fund recently raised its stake in Oracle stock. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its position in shares of Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) by 189.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 153,580 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 100,494 shares during the quarter. Oracle accounts for 0.7% of Brighton Jones LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 20th biggest holding. Brighton Jones LLC’s holdings in Oracle were worth $25,593,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period. Institutional investors own 42.44% of the company’s stock.

Oracle Company Profile

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.