The Goldman Sachs Group Cuts NIKE (NYSE:NKE) Price Target to $76.00

NIKE (NYSE:NKE) had its price target cut by The Goldman Sachs Group from $77.00 to $76.00 in a report issued on Thursday,MarketScreener reports. They currently have a buy rating on the footwear maker’s stock.

Other analysts also recently issued reports about the stock. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of NIKE from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a report on Monday, January 12th. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “buy” rating and set a $110.00 price objective on shares of NIKE in a research report on Monday, January 12th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $67.00 price objective on shares of NIKE in a report on Thursday, January 8th. Morgan Stanley set a $72.00 target price on shares of NIKE and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 1st. Finally, Raymond James Financial reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of NIKE in a research note on Monday, December 15th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-two have assigned a Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $74.61.

NIKE Stock Performance

Shares of NIKE stock opened at $61.84 on Thursday. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $63.96 and its 200 day simple moving average is $68.67. The company has a current ratio of 2.06, a quick ratio of 1.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50. The company has a market capitalization of $91.55 billion, a PE ratio of 36.38, a PEG ratio of 3.20 and a beta of 1.28. NIKE has a 12 month low of $52.28 and a 12 month high of $82.44.

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

NIKE Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 2nd. Investors of record on Monday, December 1st were given a dividend of $0.41 per share. This represents a $1.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.7%. This is a boost from NIKE’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 1st. NIKE’s payout ratio is currently 96.47%.

Insider Transactions at NIKE

In related news, Director Timothy D. Cook purchased 50,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, December 22nd. The shares were purchased at an average price of $58.97 per share, with a total value of $2,948,500.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 105,480 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,220,155.60. This trade represents a 90.12% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Elliott Hill acquired 16,388 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 29th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $61.10 per share, with a total value of $1,001,306.80. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer owned 241,587 shares in the company, valued at $14,760,965.70. The trade was a 7.28% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. Over the last 90 days, insiders purchased 91,229 shares of company stock valued at $5,452,640. 0.80% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of NKE. Mascoma Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in NIKE during the second quarter worth about $26,000. Twin Peaks Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of NIKE in the second quarter valued at $31,000. Guerra Advisors Inc bought a new position in shares of NIKE in the third quarter valued at about $34,000. Gordian Capital Singapore Pte Ltd bought a new position in shares of NIKE in the third quarter valued at about $35,000. Finally, Accredited Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of NIKE by 268.6% during the 3rd quarter. Accredited Wealth Management LLC now owns 516 shares of the footwear maker’s stock worth $36,000 after buying an additional 376 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 64.25% of the company’s stock.

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).