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

NIKE, Inc. (NYSE:NKE) has earned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the thirty-five analysts that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating and twenty-two have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 1-year price objective among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $74.6129.

Several research analysts have recently commented on NKE shares. Argus reduced their price target on NIKE from $85.00 to $70.00 in a research report on Tuesday, December 23rd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $67.00 target price on NIKE in a research note on Thursday, January 8th. Oppenheimer reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of NIKE in a report on Wednesday, December 17th. Sanford C. Bernstein restated a “buy” rating on shares of NIKE in a report on Thursday, March 5th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $78.00 price objective on shares of NIKE in a research report on Thursday, March 5th.

NIKE Stock Performance

NIKE stock opened at $56.56 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a current ratio of 2.06 and a quick ratio of 1.40. The firm has a market capitalization of $83.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.27, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.92 and a beta of 1.27. NIKE has a 1-year low of $52.28 and a 1-year high of $80.19. The company’s 50-day moving average is $63.17 and its 200 day moving average is $66.19.

NIKE (NYSE:NKE) last released its earnings results on Thursday, December 18th. The footwear maker reported $0.53 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.37 by $0.16. The business had revenue of $12.43 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $12.19 billion. NIKE had a return on equity of 18.43% and a net margin of 5.43%.The business’s revenue was up .6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.78 earnings per share. Research analysts forecast that NIKE will post 2.05 EPS for the current year.

NIKE Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 2nd will be paid a $0.41 dividend. This represents a $1.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.9%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 2nd. NIKE’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 96.47%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other NIKE news, Director Robert Holmes Swan purchased 8,691 shares of NIKE stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 22nd. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $57.54 per share, with a total value of $500,080.14. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 43,293 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,491,079.22. This trade represents a 25.12% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Elliott Hill purchased 16,388 shares of NIKE stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 29th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $61.10 per share, for a total transaction of $1,001,306.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 241,587 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $14,760,965.70. This represents a 7.28% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. Over the last three months, insiders have bought 75,079 shares of company stock valued at $4,449,887. 0.80% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On NIKE

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in NKE. Corient Private Wealth LLC raised its position in shares of NIKE by 12.5% in the 4th quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 606,819 shares of the footwear maker’s stock valued at $38,640,000 after purchasing an additional 67,647 shares during the last quarter. Union Savings Bank purchased a new stake in NIKE during the 4th quarter worth approximately $83,000. Gunpowder Capital Management LLC dba Oliver Wealth Management acquired a new position in NIKE during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $57,000. Mengis Capital Management Inc. increased its stake in NIKE by 42.2% during the 4th quarter. Mengis Capital Management Inc. now owns 51,721 shares of the footwear maker’s stock valued at $3,295,000 after purchasing an additional 15,351 shares in the last quarter. Finally, AG Campbell Advisory LLC purchased a new position in shares of NIKE in the fourth quarter worth $624,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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).