NIKE (NYSE:NKE) Shares Gap Up on Better-Than-Expected Earnings

NIKE, Inc. (NYSE:NKE) shares gapped up prior to trading on Friday after the company announced better than expected quarterly earnings. The stock had previously closed at $62.54, but opened at $69.79. NIKE shares last traded at $71.54, with a volume of 35,807,991 shares changing hands.

The footwear maker reported $0.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.12 by $0.02. NIKE had a net margin of 6.95% and a return on equity of 23.00%. The business had revenue of $11.10 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $10.69 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.99 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 11.9% on a year-over-year basis.

NIKE Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 2nd will be issued a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 2nd. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.22%. NIKE’s payout ratio is 53.16%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

NKE has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Citigroup boosted their price target on shares of NIKE from $57.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday. Dbs Bank raised shares of NIKE from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Truist Financial reduced their price target on shares of NIKE from $82.00 to $73.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of NIKE from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Friday. Finally, Berenberg Bank began coverage on shares of NIKE in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $58.00 price target on the stock. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have assigned a hold rating, sixteen have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $79.33.

Insider Buying and Selling at NIKE

In other NIKE news, Director Robert Holmes Swan bought 8,600 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, April 4th. The shares were bought at an average price of $58.46 per share, for a total transaction of $502,756.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 31,983 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,869,726.18. This trade represents a 36.78% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of NIKE

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in NIKE by 4.6% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 113,151,080 shares of the footwear maker’s stock valued at $7,182,831,000 after buying an additional 4,957,494 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its position in shares of NIKE by 24.9% during the first quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 45,383,916 shares of the footwear maker’s stock worth $2,880,971,000 after purchasing an additional 9,043,180 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its position in shares of NIKE by 344.2% during the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 26,698,835 shares of the footwear maker’s stock worth $1,694,842,000 after purchasing an additional 20,688,013 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of NIKE by 1.4% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 25,376,558 shares of the footwear maker’s stock worth $1,915,110,000 after purchasing an additional 347,178 shares during the period. Finally, Capital World Investors raised its position in shares of NIKE by 10.3% during the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 24,545,937 shares of the footwear maker’s stock worth $1,857,389,000 after purchasing an additional 2,288,627 shares during the period. 64.25% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

NIKE Stock Performance

The company has a market cap of $106.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.38, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.29 and a beta of 1.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57, a current ratio of 2.19 and a quick ratio of 1.52. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $60.63 and a 200 day moving average price of $67.60.

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.