NIKE, Inc. (NYSE:NKE) Receives Average Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Brokerages

Shares of NIKE, Inc. (NYSE:NKE) have been assigned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the thirty-seven brokerages that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, twenty-five have issued a buy recommendation and two have given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month price target among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $78.1379.

A number of brokerages have recently commented on NKE. KeyCorp set a $90.00 price target on NIKE and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 2nd. Raymond James Financial restated a “market perform” rating on shares of NIKE in a research note on Monday, December 15th. Telsey Advisory Group reduced their price target on NIKE from $75.00 to $72.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, December 19th. Wells Fargo & Company set a $65.00 price objective on shares of NIKE and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, December 19th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus set a $65.00 target price on NIKE and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, December 19th.

NIKE News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting NIKE this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Apple CEO and Nike director Timothy D. Cook substantially increased his personal stake (50,000 shares, roughly $2.95M), a high‑profile insider buy that traders interpret as a vote of confidence. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Another director, Robert Holmes Swan, also purchased shares (~8,691 shares, ~$500k), reinforcing the insider accumulation narrative that’s buoying sentiment. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Unusually large call‑option volume points to speculative/hedged bullish positioning into the move, amplifying upward pressure in the short term. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Wall Street coverage remains mixed-to-supportive: several buy/overweight ratings and mid‑range price targets exist, but consensus targets sit below earlier highs — useful context for medium‑term holders. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Technically the stock is deeply oversold (RSI readings flagged by market pieces), which can attract bargain hunters even as fundamentals are reassessed. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Recent earnings beat was overshadowed by weak outlook items: China demand softness, tariff pressures and margin compression have driven the recent selloff and weigh on near‑term earnings visibility. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Analyst downgrades and commentary about margin deterioration and high payout ratios increase downside risk until the turnaround shows sustained improvement. Read More.

NIKE Stock Performance

Shares of NKE stock opened at $60.08 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a quick ratio of 1.40 and a current ratio of 2.06. NIKE has a 52 week low of $52.28 and a 52 week high of $82.44. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $64.48 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $69.35. The company has a market capitalization of $88.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.34, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.45 and a beta of 1.29.

NIKE (NYSE:NKE) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, December 18th. The footwear maker reported $0.53 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.37 by $0.16. NIKE had a net margin of 5.43% and a return on equity of 18.43%. The company had revenue of $12.43 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $12.19 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.78 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up .6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts expect that NIKE will post 2.05 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

NIKE Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 2nd. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 1st will be issued a dividend of $0.41 per share. This is a boost from NIKE’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. This represents a $1.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.7%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 1st. NIKE’s dividend payout ratio is presently 96.47%.

Insider Activity at NIKE

In other NIKE news, Director Robert Holmes Swan purchased 8,691 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 22nd. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $57.54 per share, with a total value of $500,080.14. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 43,293 shares in the company, valued at $2,491,079.22. The trade was a 25.12% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Treasure Heinle sold 4,300 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.27, for a total transaction of $306,461.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 29,396 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,095,052.92. This represents a 12.76% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last ninety days, insiders have acquired 74,841 shares of company stock valued at $4,451,334. 0.80% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On NIKE

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in NKE. Mitchell Mcleod Pugh & Williams Inc. grew its holdings in shares of NIKE by 1.0% during the 2nd quarter. Mitchell Mcleod Pugh & Williams Inc. now owns 14,176 shares of the footwear maker’s stock worth $1,007,000 after purchasing an additional 134 shares in the last quarter. Main Street Financial Solutions LLC boosted its position in shares of NIKE by 4.2% during the 2nd quarter. Main Street Financial Solutions LLC now owns 3,441 shares of the footwear maker’s stock worth $244,000 after acquiring an additional 139 shares in the last quarter. St. Clair Advisors LLC increased its stake in NIKE by 0.9% in the third quarter. St. Clair Advisors LLC now owns 15,217 shares of the footwear maker’s stock valued at $1,061,000 after acquiring an additional 140 shares during the last quarter. Caldwell Sutter Capital Inc. raised its position in NIKE by 6.3% during the second quarter. Caldwell Sutter Capital Inc. now owns 2,390 shares of the footwear maker’s stock valued at $170,000 after purchasing an additional 142 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Salomon & Ludwin LLC raised its position in NIKE by 10.1% during the second quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC now owns 1,575 shares of the footwear maker’s stock valued at $120,000 after purchasing an additional 145 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 64.25% of the company’s stock.

About NIKE

Nike, Inc (NYSE: NKE) is a global designer, marketer and distributor of athletic footwear, apparel, equipment and accessories. Founded in 1964 as Blue Ribbon Sports by Phil Knight and Bill Bowerman and renamed Nike in 1971, the company is headquartered near Beaverton, Oregon. Nike develops and commercializes products across performance and lifestyle categories for sports including running, basketball, soccer and training, and is known for signature technologies and design-driven product lines.

The company markets products under several primary brands, including Nike, Jordan and Converse, and sells through a combination of wholesale relationships, branded retail stores and direct-to-consumer channels such as company-operated stores and digital platforms (e.g., Nike.com and mobile apps).