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

NIKE, Inc. (NYSE:NKE) has received an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the thirty-five ratings firms that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating and twenty-two have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 1-year price objective among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $74.6129.

Several brokerages recently weighed in on NKE. DZ Bank reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of NIKE in a report on Friday, December 19th. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $78.00 price objective on shares of NIKE in a report on Thursday, March 5th. BTIG Research reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $100.00 price objective on shares of NIKE in a research note on Tuesday, January 27th. BNP Paribas Exane reduced their target price on shares of NIKE from $38.00 to $35.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, December 19th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their target price on shares of NIKE from $77.00 to $76.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 29th.

Insider Transactions at NIKE

In related news, Director Robert Holmes Swan purchased 8,691 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 22nd. The stock was bought at an average cost of $57.54 per share, with a total value of $500,080.14. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director owned 43,293 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,491,079.22. The trade was a 25.12% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Elliott Hill acquired 16,388 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, December 29th. The stock was bought at an average price of $61.10 per share, for a total transaction of $1,001,306.80. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 241,587 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,760,965.70. This represents a 7.28% increase in their position. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have purchased 75,079 shares of company stock worth $4,449,887 over the last quarter. 0.80% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On NIKE

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in NKE. Brighton Jones LLC grew its position in NIKE by 388.5% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 202,411 shares of the footwear maker’s stock valued at $15,316,000 after buying an additional 160,980 shares during the period. Caxton Associates LLP acquired a new position in shares of NIKE in the first quarter worth about $311,000. United Bank raised its position in shares of NIKE by 11.3% in the second quarter. United Bank now owns 17,067 shares of the footwear maker’s stock worth $1,212,000 after acquiring an additional 1,736 shares during the period. Penserra Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of NIKE by 5.9% during the 2nd quarter. Penserra Capital Management LLC now owns 13,994 shares of the footwear maker’s stock worth $994,000 after acquiring an additional 782 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fox Run Management L.L.C. purchased a new stake in shares of NIKE during the 2nd quarter worth about $276,000. 64.25% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

NIKE Stock Performance

Shares of NKE opened at $56.56 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a quick ratio of 1.40 and a current ratio of 2.06. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $63.17 and a two-hundred day moving average of $66.19. The stock has a market cap of $83.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.27, a P/E/G ratio of 2.92 and a beta of 1.27. NIKE has a one year low of $52.28 and a one year high of $80.19.

NIKE (NYSE:NKE) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, December 18th. The footwear maker reported $0.53 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.37 by $0.16. NIKE had a return on equity of 18.43% and a net margin of 5.43%.The business had revenue of $12.43 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $12.19 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.78 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up .6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts predict that NIKE will post 2.05 EPS for the current year.

NIKE Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 2nd will be issued a $0.41 dividend. This represents a $1.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 2nd. NIKE’s payout ratio is 96.47%.

NIKE Company Profile

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).