NIKE’s (NKE) Neutral Rating Reaffirmed at Bank of America

Bank of America reaffirmed their neutral rating on shares of NIKE (NYSE:NKE) in a research note published on Wednesday morning, Marketbeat.com reports. Bank of America currently has a $55.00 price target on the footwear maker’s stock, down from their previous price target of $73.00.

A number of other equities analysts have also recently issued reports on NKE. DZ Bank reissued a “buy” rating on shares of NIKE in a research report on Friday, December 19th. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of NIKE in a research note on Thursday, March 12th. Citigroup reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $65.00 price target (down from $70.00) on shares of NIKE in a report on Friday, December 19th. BNP Paribas Exane reduced their price objective on NIKE from $38.00 to $35.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, December 19th. Finally, Robert W. Baird decreased their price objective on NIKE from $93.00 to $85.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, December 19th. Nineteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $64.43.

NIKE Stock Down 15.3%

NIKE stock opened at $44.72 on Wednesday. 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 has a 12-month low of $44.56 and a 12-month high of $80.17. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $59.27 and its 200 day moving average is $63.53. The company has a market capitalization of $66.21 billion, a PE ratio of 29.62, a PEG ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 1.31.

NIKE (NYSE:NKE) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, March 31st. The footwear maker reported $0.35 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.29 by $0.06. NIKE had a net margin of 4.84% and a return on equity of 16.56%. The business had revenue of $11.28 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $11.23 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.54 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up .1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that NIKE will post 2.05 EPS for the current fiscal year.

NIKE Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 1st. Investors of record on Monday, March 2nd were given a $0.41 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 2nd. This represents a $1.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.7%. NIKE’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 96.47%.

Institutional Trading of NIKE

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its holdings in shares of NIKE by 388.5% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 202,411 shares of the footwear maker’s stock valued at $15,316,000 after purchasing an additional 160,980 shares in the last quarter. Caxton Associates LLP purchased a new position in shares of NIKE during the first quarter valued at approximately $311,000. United Bank grew its holdings in NIKE by 11.3% during the second quarter. United Bank now owns 17,067 shares of the footwear maker’s stock worth $1,212,000 after buying an additional 1,736 shares in the last quarter. Edgestream Partners L.P. raised its position in NIKE by 83.6% in the 2nd quarter. Edgestream Partners L.P. now owns 50,759 shares of the footwear maker’s stock valued at $3,606,000 after buying an additional 23,110 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership raised its position in NIKE by 410.3% in the 2nd quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 132,942 shares of the footwear maker’s stock valued at $9,444,000 after buying an additional 106,891 shares during the last quarter. 64.25% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Key NIKE News

Here are the key news stories impacting NIKE this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Q3 beat on the headlines — NIKE reported $11.28B in revenue and $0.35 EPS, modestly above consensus, showing the turnaround program is producing some topline stability and earnings beats. Business Wire: NIKE Q3 release
• Positive Sentiment: Product and regional pockets of strength — North America and running categories showed improvement, supporting management’s claim that parts of the turnaround are working. Reuters: Q3 sales beat
• Neutral Sentiment: Mixed analyst reaction — Several firms cut price targets and ratings while others reaffirmed buys; the street is divided on timing and magnitude of the recovery. Expect more target revisions as guidance is digested. Benzinga: analyst cuts
• Negative Sentiment: Weak guidance is the main driver — NIKE guided Q4 revenue lower (management now expects a decline rather than growth), signaling the turnaround will take longer and removing near‑term certainty. CNBC: guidance and turnaround outlook
• Negative Sentiment: China slump — management projects a sharp drop in Greater China sales (around the guidance window), worsening a key market and pressuring revenue and margin recovery. Invezz: China sales impact
• Negative Sentiment: Margin and cost headwinds — tariffs, promotions and inventory cleanup weighed on gross margin and guidance for margin recovery is delayed, increasing near‑term earnings risk. Zacks: margin pressures
• Negative Sentiment: Market reaction and analyst downgrades — heavy trading, multiple price‑target cuts and downgrades accelerated the selloff and pushed the stock to multi‑year/52‑week lows. Investopedia: stock reaction

About NIKE

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).