Nike (NKE) Raised to “Outperform” at Wedbush

Nike (NYSE:NKE) was upgraded by equities research analysts at Wedbush from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating in a note issued to investors on Friday, Marketbeat Ratings reports. The brokerage presently has a $74.00 price target on the footwear maker’s stock. Wedbush’s price objective points to a potential upside of 10.10% from the stock’s current price. Wedbush also issued estimates for Nike’s Q4 2018 earnings at $0.70 EPS, FY2019 earnings at $2.67 EPS and FY2020 earnings at $3.05 EPS.

Several other research firms have also recently weighed in on NKE. Citigroup restated a “buy” rating and set a $74.00 price target on shares of Nike in a report on Tuesday, December 19th. Canaccord Genuity raised their price target on Nike from $50.00 to $64.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 19th. Zacks Investment Research upgraded Nike from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $73.00 price target for the company in a report on Tuesday, December 19th. Telsey Advisory Group raised their price target on Nike from $61.00 to $68.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, December 18th. Finally, Buckingham Research raised their price target on Nike from $64.00 to $71.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 18th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nineteen have given 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 $64.94.

Nike (NKE) traded up $3.10 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $67.21. The company had a trading volume of 12,893,952 shares, compared to its average volume of 8,970,000. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a current ratio of 2.46 and a quick ratio of 1.67. Nike has a 12-month low of $50.35 and a 12-month high of $67.24. The stock has a market capitalization of $109,650.00, a PE ratio of 29.10, a P/E/G ratio of 2.91 and a beta of 0.64.

Nike (NYSE:NKE) last released its earnings results on Thursday, December 21st. The footwear maker reported $0.46 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.40 by $0.06. Nike had a return on equity of 31.64% and a net margin of 11.13%. The firm had revenue of $8.55 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.39 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.50 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 4.6% on a year-over-year basis. research analysts predict that Nike will post 2.25 EPS for the current year.

In related news, Chairman Mark G. Parker sold 135,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.03, for a total transaction of $7,429,050.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now directly owns 1,637,736 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $90,124,612.08. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP John F. Slusher sold 100,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $63.09, for a total value of $6,309,000.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 268,169 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $16,918,782.21. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 967,896 shares of company stock valued at $60,257,267. Company insiders own 3.90% of the company’s stock.

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Willingdon Wealth Management bought a new stake in shares of Nike during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $114,000. Asset Planning Services Ltd. lifted its stake 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 acquiring an additional 7 shares during the last quarter. Atlantic Trust LLC bought a new stake in shares of Nike during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $136,000. Howe & Rusling Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Nike by 751.3% during the 3rd quarter. Howe & Rusling Inc. now owns 2,639 shares of the footwear maker’s stock worth $137,000 after acquiring an additional 2,329 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Kistler Tiffany Companies LLC lifted its stake in shares of Nike by 91.7% during the 2nd quarter. Kistler Tiffany Companies LLC now owns 2,527 shares of the footwear maker’s stock worth $149,000 after acquiring an additional 1,209 shares during the last quarter. 62.75% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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About Nike

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.

Analyst Recommendations for Nike (NYSE:NKE)