Nike (NKE) Upgraded to Buy by Oppenheimer

Nike (NYSE:NKE) was upgraded by equities researchers at Oppenheimer to a “buy” rating in a research note issued on Wednesday.

NKE has been the subject of several other research reports. Goldman Sachs Group set a $59.00 target price on shares of Nike and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, December 14th. HSBC downgraded shares of Nike from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $58.95 to $62.00 in a report on Tuesday, November 28th. Buckingham Research assumed coverage on shares of Nike in a report on Sunday, December 31st. They issued a “buy” rating and a $72.00 target price for the company. Zacks Investment Research upgraded shares of Nike from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 24th. Finally, B. Riley lifted their target price on shares of Nike from $53.00 to $61.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, December 22nd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eighteen have given a hold rating and twenty-two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Nike currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $65.05.

Shares of Nike (NYSE:NKE) traded up $0.89 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $68.22. 11,033,296 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 7,514,656. Nike has a fifty-two week low of $50.35 and a fifty-two week high of $68.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a current ratio of 2.46 and a quick ratio of 1.67. The firm has a market cap of $111,300.00, a P/E ratio of 29.53, a P/E/G ratio of 3.06 and a beta of 0.64.

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

In related news, EVP John F. Slusher sold 125,722 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $63.17, for a total value of $7,941,858.74. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 268,169 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $16,940,235.73. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Eric D. Sprunk sold 226,040 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $63.10, for a total transaction of $14,263,124.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 165,591 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,448,792.10. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 832,896 shares of company stock valued at $52,828,217. Corporate insiders own 3.90% of the company’s stock.

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Asset Planning Services Ltd. lifted its position in Nike by 0.3% in the second quarter. Asset Planning Services Ltd. now owns 2,132 shares of the footwear maker’s stock valued at $126,000 after acquiring an additional 7 shares during the last quarter. Stearns Financial Services Group lifted its position in Nike by 0.4% in the second quarter. Stearns Financial Services Group now owns 4,160 shares of the footwear maker’s stock valued at $245,000 after acquiring an additional 17 shares during the last quarter. Buckingham Asset Management LLC lifted its position in Nike by 0.7% in the second quarter. Buckingham Asset Management LLC now owns 6,797 shares of the footwear maker’s stock valued at $401,000 after acquiring an additional 45 shares during the last quarter. Sullivan Bruyette Speros & Blaney LLC lifted its position in Nike by 1.0% in the second quarter. Sullivan Bruyette Speros & Blaney LLC now owns 6,048 shares of the footwear maker’s stock valued at $357,000 after acquiring an additional 61 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Starfire Investment Advisers Inc. lifted its position in Nike by 1.4% in the second quarter. Starfire Investment Advisers Inc. now owns 4,562 shares of the footwear maker’s stock valued at $269,000 after acquiring an additional 62 shares during the last quarter. 62.97% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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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.