NIKE (NYSE:NKE) Trading 1.4% Higher – Still a Buy?

Shares of NIKE, Inc. (NYSE:NKE) rose 1.4% during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $64.35 and last traded at $64.39. Approximately 3,752,463 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 71% from the average daily volume of 12,913,353 shares. The stock had previously closed at $63.48.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently issued reports on NKE shares. DA Davidson upgraded NIKE to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 23rd. China Renaissance assumed coverage on NIKE in a report on Wednesday, March 19th. They set a “hold” rating on the stock. Piper Sandler raised shares of NIKE from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $72.00 to $90.00 in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on shares of NIKE from $72.00 to $70.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, March 21st. Finally, Cfra Research upgraded shares of NIKE to a “moderate buy” rating in a report on Friday, March 21st. Fifteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, NIKE presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $87.38.

NIKE Stock Up 2.1 %

The firm has a market cap of $95.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.00, a PEG ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 1.02. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57, a quick ratio of 1.51 and a current ratio of 2.22. The business’s 50-day moving average is $74.01 and its 200-day moving average is $76.82.

NIKE (NYSE:NKE) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, March 20th. The footwear maker reported $0.54 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.28 by $0.26. The company had revenue of $11.27 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $11.02 billion. NIKE had a net margin of 9.98% and a return on equity of 36.99%. NIKE’s quarterly revenue was down 9.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.98 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts predict that NIKE, Inc. will post 2.05 EPS for the current year.

NIKE Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 3rd will be paid a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.47%. NIKE’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 53.16%.

Insider Activity at NIKE

In related news, Chairman Mark G. Parker sold 169,732 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.83, for a total value of $12,361,581.56. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman now owns 896,632 shares in the company, valued at $65,301,708.56. The trade was a 15.92 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. JNBA Financial Advisors boosted its holdings in NIKE by 1.3% in the fourth quarter. JNBA Financial Advisors now owns 10,045 shares of the footwear maker’s stock valued at $760,000 after acquiring an additional 131 shares during the last quarter. Frisch Financial Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of NIKE by 4.7% in the 3rd quarter. Frisch Financial Group Inc. now owns 3,036 shares of the footwear maker’s stock valued at $269,000 after purchasing an additional 136 shares during the last quarter. Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV boosted its stake in shares of NIKE by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV now owns 20,446 shares of the footwear maker’s stock valued at $1,547,000 after purchasing an additional 136 shares during the last quarter. Elgethun Capital Management grew its position in shares of NIKE by 13.7% during the 4th quarter. Elgethun Capital Management now owns 1,236 shares of the footwear maker’s stock worth $94,000 after buying an additional 149 shares during the period. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake in shares of NIKE by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 15,014 shares of the footwear maker’s stock worth $1,136,000 after buying an additional 150 shares during the last quarter. 64.25% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About NIKE

NIKE, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, designs, develops, markets, and sells athletic footwear, apparel, equipment, accessories, and services worldwide. The company provides athletic and casual footwear, apparel, and accessories under the Jumpman trademark; and casual sneakers, apparel, and accessories under the Converse, Chuck Taylor, All Star, One Star, Star Chevron, and Jack Purcell trademarks.