NIKE, Inc. (NYSE:NKE) Given Consensus Rating of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

NIKE, Inc. (NYSE:NKE) has earned an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the thirty analysts that are covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. Fourteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, fifteen have given a buy recommendation and one has assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month target price among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $88.62.

Several research analysts have commented on NKE shares. Telsey Advisory Group restated a “market perform” rating and set a $80.00 price objective on shares of NIKE in a report on Thursday. TD Cowen cut their price target on NIKE from $78.00 to $73.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, November 18th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on shares of NIKE from $95.00 to $92.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, December 16th. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on shares of NIKE from $80.00 to $74.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price target on shares of NIKE from $82.00 to $80.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, November 7th.

Insider Activity at NIKE

In related news, Director John W. Rogers, Jr. purchased 2,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, December 27th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $76.65 per share, with a total value of $191,625.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 34,403 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,636,989.95. This trade represents a 7.84 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 1.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of NIKE

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Range Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of NIKE during the 4th quarter worth about $642,000. Cacti Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in NIKE during the fourth quarter worth approximately $9,987,000. Capricorn Fund Managers Ltd acquired a new stake in NIKE in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $5,384,000. Klein Pavlis & Peasley Financial Inc. grew its holdings in NIKE by 31.1% in the fourth quarter. Klein Pavlis & Peasley Financial Inc. now owns 25,835 shares of the footwear maker’s stock valued at $1,955,000 after purchasing an additional 6,124 shares during the period. Finally, FNY Investment Advisers LLC increased its position in shares of NIKE by 5,745.9% in the fourth quarter. FNY Investment Advisers LLC now owns 8,652 shares of the footwear maker’s stock valued at $654,000 after buying an additional 8,504 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 64.25% of the company’s stock.

NIKE Price Performance

Shares of NKE stock opened at $68.69 on Monday. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $75.12 and a 200 day moving average price of $78.04. NIKE has a 52-week low of $68.62 and a 52-week high of $107.43. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $101.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.20, a P/E/G ratio of 2.34 and a beta of 1.01.

NIKE (NYSE:NKE) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, December 19th. The footwear maker reported $0.78 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.63 by $0.15. NIKE had a net margin of 9.98% and a return on equity of 36.99%. The firm had revenue of $12.35 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $12.11 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.03 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was down 7.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that NIKE will post 2.05 earnings per share for the current year.

NIKE Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 2nd. Investors of record on Monday, December 2nd were issued a dividend of $0.40 per share. This is an increase from NIKE’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.37. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 2nd. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.33%. NIKE’s payout ratio is 49.38%.

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.