NIKE, Inc. (NYSE:NKE) Receives Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Brokerages

Shares of NIKE, Inc. (NYSE:NKE) have received a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the thirty-six analysts that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating, twenty-two have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average twelve-month price objective among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $74.6129.

A number of analysts have weighed in on NKE shares. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “buy” rating and set a $110.00 target price on shares of NIKE in a research report on Monday, January 12th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of NIKE from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research report on Monday, January 12th. Argus lowered their target price on shares of NIKE from $85.00 to $70.00 in a research note on Tuesday, December 23rd. Stifel Nicolaus set a $65.00 price target on shares of NIKE and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, December 19th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price target on NIKE from $77.00 to $76.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 29th.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Timothy D. Cook acquired 50,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 22nd. The stock was bought at an average price of $58.97 per share, for a total transaction of $2,948,500.00. Following the purchase, the director directly owned 105,480 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,220,155.60. The trade was a 90.12% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Robert Holmes Swan bought 8,691 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 22nd. The shares were bought at an average cost of $57.54 per share, for a total transaction of $500,080.14. Following the completion of the purchase, the director owned 43,293 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,491,079.22. This represents a 25.12% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. Over the last three months, insiders acquired 75,079 shares of company stock worth $4,449,887. 0.80% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of NIKE

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. J.Safra Asset Management Corp bought a new stake in shares of NIKE in the 4th quarter worth $29,000. Twin Peaks Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in NIKE during the second quarter worth about $31,000. Litman Gregory Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in NIKE in the 4th quarter worth about $32,000. Guerra Advisors Inc bought a new stake in NIKE in the 3rd quarter worth about $34,000. Finally, Gordian Capital Singapore Pte Ltd purchased a new stake in NIKE in the 3rd quarter valued at about $35,000. 64.25% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

NIKE Stock Performance

Shares of NIKE stock opened at $61.08 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $90.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.93, a P/E/G ratio of 3.19 and a beta of 1.27. NIKE has a twelve month low of $52.28 and a twelve month high of $82.44. The company’s fifty day moving average is $63.59 and its 200 day moving average is $67.97. 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 announced 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. NIKE had a return on equity of 18.43% and a net margin of 5.43%.The firm had revenue of $12.43 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $12.19 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.78 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up .6% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts forecast that NIKE will post 2.05 EPS for the current year.

NIKE Increases Dividend

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

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).