DZ Bank Upgrades NIKE (NYSE:NKE) to “Buy”

NIKE (NYSE:NKE) was upgraded by equities researchers at DZ Bank from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Wednesday, Marketbeat Ratings reports.

Other analysts also recently issued research reports about the company. Citigroup upgraded NIKE from a “neutral” rating to a “positive” rating in a research note on Friday, September 19th. Evercore ISI decreased their target price on NIKE from $97.00 to $75.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, June 24th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their target price on NIKE from $77.00 to $71.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, June 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of NIKE from $93.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded shares of NIKE from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 26th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-four have assigned a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $81.57.

NIKE Stock Up 2.5%

NYSE NKE traded up $1.85 on Wednesday, reaching $76.05. The stock had a trading volume of 5,177,717 shares, compared to its average volume of 16,359,950. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $74.73 and a 200 day moving average price of $67.31. The company has a current ratio of 2.21, a quick ratio of 1.50 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60. NIKE has a 1 year low of $52.28 and a 1 year high of $84.76. The company has a market capitalization of $112.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.07, a P/E/G ratio of 2.60 and a beta of 1.29.

NIKE (NYSE:NKE) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, September 30th. The footwear maker reported $0.49 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.27 by $0.22. NIKE had a return on equity of 21.05% and a net margin of 6.23%.The firm had revenue of $11.72 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.96 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.70 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts forecast that NIKE will post 2.05 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other NIKE news, Chairman Mark G. Parker sold 110,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $72.29, for a total value of $7,951,900.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman owned 842,361 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $60,894,276.69. This represents a 11.55% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 0.80% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On NIKE

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Stone House Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in NIKE in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Mascoma Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in NIKE in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC raised its holdings in NIKE by 952.6% in the 2nd quarter. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC now owns 400 shares of the footwear maker’s stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 362 shares in the last quarter. Saudi Central Bank acquired a new position in NIKE in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Finally, Matrix Trust Co raised its holdings in NIKE by 53.1% in the 2nd quarter. Matrix Trust Co now owns 441 shares of the footwear maker’s stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 153 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 64.25% of the company’s stock.

NIKE Company Profile

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.