Oracle Corp ( ORCL ) shares are in the spotlight Monday ahead of earnings. Here’s a look at what you need to know.

What To Know: Oracle is set to report fiscal third-quarter financial results Monday after the market close. The company is expected to report earnings of $1.38 per share and revenue of $13.306 billion, according to Benzinga Pro. Although Oracle has beat EPS estimates in recent quarters, the company has narrowly missed top-line estimates in two consecutive quarters.

Last quarter, Oracle said demand for its Cloud Infrastructure and Generative AI services was “increasing at an astronomical rate” as total Remaining Performance Obligations climbed to over $65 billion, exceeding the company’s annual revenue. Investors will be watching for an update on cloud infrastructure and generative AI services demand.

Several analysts have cut price targets on the stock since Oracle last reported earnings. Piper Sandler cut its price target from $125 to $122, Morgan Stanley lowered its price target from $107 to $106 and BMO Capital cut its price target from $130 to $126.

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Is ORCL A Good Stock To Buy?

An investor can make a few decisions when deciding whether a stock is a good buy. In addition to valuation metrics and price action which you can find on Benzinga's quote pages – like Oracle‘s page for example – there are factors like whether or not a company pays a dividend or buys a large portion of its stock each quarter.

These are known as capital allocation programs. Oracle does pay a dividend, which yields 1.48% per year as of the closing price on Mar. 11. Feel free to search Benzinga's dividend calendar for the next company that is due to pay a dividend and determine what kind of yield you can earn for holding a share of the company.

For example, if you're looking to earn an annualized return of 15.87%, you'll need to buy a share of Ellington Residential by the Mar. 27, 2024. Once done, you can expect to receive a nominal payout of $0.08 on Apr. 25.

Buyback programs are obviously different and highly variable. A company can approve a buyback program and purchase shares as it sees fit over the course of time in which the buyback was authorized. Looking through the latest news on Oracle will often yield whether or not the company has approved a buyback program recently. Buyback programs usually serve as a support for share prices, serving as a backstop for demand.

ORCL Price Action: Oracle shares were up 0.37% at $112.86 at the time of writing, according to Benzinga Pro.