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

Shares of NIKE, Inc. (NYSE:NKE) have been given a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the thirty-seven analysts that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-five have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month price objective among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $78.1379.

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on NKE shares. Oppenheimer reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of NIKE in a research report on Wednesday, December 17th. Cowen raised shares of NIKE from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 10th. Piper Sandler set a $75.00 price target on shares of NIKE and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, December 19th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of NIKE in a report on Monday. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group lowered their target price on NIKE from $75.00 to $72.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, December 19th.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Robert Holmes Swan bought 8,691 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 22nd. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $57.54 per share, for a total transaction of $500,080.14. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 43,293 shares in the company, valued at $2,491,079.22. This trade represents a 25.12% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Treasure Heinle sold 4,300 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, October 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.27, for a total transaction of $306,461.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 29,396 shares in the company, valued at $2,095,052.92. The trade was a 12.76% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last three months, insiders bought 74,841 shares of company stock worth $4,451,334. Company insiders own 0.80% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of NIKE

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of NKE. Norges Bank bought a new position in NIKE during the second quarter valued at approximately $835,063,000. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main boosted its holdings in NIKE by 3,129.9% during the 2nd quarter. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main now owns 9,091,426 shares of the footwear maker’s stock valued at $645,855,000 after acquiring an additional 8,809,950 shares during the period. Harris Associates L P bought a new position in NIKE during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $621,525,000. Invesco Ltd. grew its position in NIKE by 66.1% during the 2nd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 12,157,198 shares of the footwear maker’s stock worth $863,647,000 after acquiring an additional 4,840,114 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Jennison Associates LLC increased its stake in NIKE by 42.3% in the 3rd quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 11,838,528 shares of the footwear maker’s stock worth $825,501,000 after purchasing an additional 3,518,666 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 64.25% of the company’s stock.

NIKE Trading Up 4.8%

NYSE NKE opened at $60.08 on Thursday. NIKE has a 52 week low of $52.28 and a 52 week high of $82.44. The company has a market cap of $88.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.34, a P/E/G ratio of 2.45 and a beta of 1.29. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $64.48 and a 200-day moving average price of $69.35. The company has a quick ratio of 1.40, a current ratio of 2.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50.

NIKE (NYSE:NKE) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, December 18th. The footwear maker reported $0.53 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.37 by $0.16. The company had revenue of $12.43 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $12.19 billion. NIKE had a net margin of 5.43% and a return on equity of 18.43%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up .6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.78 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts expect that NIKE will post 2.05 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

NIKE Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 2nd. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 1st will be paid a $0.41 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 1st. This represents a $1.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.7%. This is an increase from NIKE’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. NIKE’s dividend payout ratio is 96.47%.

NIKE News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting NIKE this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Apple CEO and Nike director Timothy D. Cook substantially increased his personal stake (50,000 shares, roughly $2.95M), a high‑profile insider buy that traders interpret as a vote of confidence. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Another director, Robert Holmes Swan, also purchased shares (~8,691 shares, ~$500k), reinforcing the insider accumulation narrative that’s buoying sentiment. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Unusually large call‑option volume points to speculative/hedged bullish positioning into the move, amplifying upward pressure in the short term. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Wall Street coverage remains mixed-to-supportive: several buy/overweight ratings and mid‑range price targets exist, but consensus targets sit below earlier highs — useful context for medium‑term holders. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Technically the stock is deeply oversold (RSI readings flagged by market pieces), which can attract bargain hunters even as fundamentals are reassessed. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Recent earnings beat was overshadowed by weak outlook items: China demand softness, tariff pressures and margin compression have driven the recent selloff and weigh on near‑term earnings visibility. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Analyst downgrades and commentary about margin deterioration and high payout ratios increase downside risk until the turnaround shows sustained improvement. Read More.

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).