Nike (NKE) Stock Rating Upgraded by Argus

Nike (NYSE:NKE) was upgraded by analysts at Argus from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note issued on Thursday, The Fly reports.

NKE has been the topic of several other reports. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $64.00 price objective (down from $68.00) on shares of Nike in a report on Tuesday, August 29th. Vetr raised shares of Nike from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating and set a $59.09 price objective on the stock in a report on Wednesday, September 6th. Telsey Advisory Group decreased their price objective on shares of Nike from $63.00 to $61.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, August 30th. Wells Fargo & Company reissued a “market perform” rating and issued a $55.00 price target (down from $56.00) on shares of Nike in a research note on Tuesday, September 19th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Nike in a research note on Thursday, August 24th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nineteen have issued a hold rating and twenty-one have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. The company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $59.37.

Shares of Nike (NKE) opened at $64.30 on Thursday. Nike has a twelve month low of $50.35 and a twelve month high of $64.46. The stock has a market cap of $101,459.15, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.46, a P/E/G ratio of 2.91 and a beta of 0.64. The company has a current ratio of 2.67, a quick ratio of 1.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29.

Nike (NYSE:NKE) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, September 26th. The footwear maker reported $0.57 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the Zacks’ consensus estimate of $0.48 by $0.09. Nike had a net margin of 11.47% and a return on equity of 31.88%. The firm had revenue of $9.07 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.08 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.73 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up .1% compared to the same quarter last year. analysts anticipate that Nike will post 2.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

In related news, EVP Monique S. Matheson sold 10,000 shares of Nike stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $62.00, for a total value of $620,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 23,248 shares in the company, valued at $1,441,376. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Chairman Mark G. Parker sold 135,000 shares of Nike stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.03, for a total transaction of $7,429,050.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman now owns 1,637,736 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $90,124,612.08. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 3.90% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in NKE. Gierl Augustine Investment Management Inc lifted its position in shares of Nike by 0.3% during the 2nd quarter. Gierl Augustine Investment Management Inc now owns 2,003 shares of the footwear maker’s stock worth $111,000 after buying an additional 6 shares during the last quarter. CWM LLC lifted its position in shares of Nike by 0.3% during the 2nd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 2,227 shares of the footwear maker’s stock worth $123,000 after buying an additional 7 shares during the last quarter. Asset Planning Services Ltd. lifted its position in shares of Nike by 0.3% during the 2nd quarter. Asset Planning Services Ltd. now owns 2,132 shares of the footwear maker’s stock worth $126,000 after buying an additional 7 shares during the last quarter. Capital Investment Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Nike by 0.3% during the 3rd quarter. Capital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 3,885 shares of the footwear maker’s stock worth $205,000 after buying an additional 12 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Stearns Financial Services Group lifted its position in shares of Nike by 0.4% during the 2nd quarter. Stearns Financial Services Group now owns 4,160 shares of the footwear maker’s stock worth $245,000 after buying an additional 17 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 62.78% of the company’s stock.

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Nike Company Profile

NIKE, Inc is engaged in the design, development, marketing and selling of athletic footwear, apparel, equipment, accessories and services. The Company’s operating segments include North America, Western Europe, Central & Eastern Europe, Greater China, Japan and Emerging Markets. Its portfolio brands include the NIKE Brand, Jordan Brand, Hurley and Converse.