NIKE, Inc. (NYSE:NKE) Receives Average Recommendation of “Hold” from Brokerages

Shares of NIKE, Inc. (NYSE:NKE) have been given an average recommendation of “Hold” by the thirty-six ratings firms that are covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eighteen have given a hold rating and sixteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month price target among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $62.0394.

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on NKE shares. Sanford C. Bernstein reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of NIKE in a research report on Monday, May 11th. Wells Fargo & Company set a $45.00 target price on NIKE and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, May 8th. Williams Trading cut their target price on NIKE from $80.00 to $57.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 1st. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $52.00 price target (down from $76.00) on shares of NIKE in a research report on Wednesday, April 1st. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised NIKE from a “sell (d)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a research report on Friday, May 22nd.

NIKE Stock Performance

Shares of NKE opened at $46.21 on Friday. The business’s 50 day moving average is $45.75 and its two-hundred day moving average is $56.76. NIKE has a 52-week low of $41.35 and a 52-week high of $80.17. The firm has a market cap of $68.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.60, a PEG ratio of 2.45 and a beta of 1.12. The company has a quick ratio of 1.45, a current ratio of 2.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50.

NIKE (NYSE:NKE) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, March 31st. The footwear maker reported $0.35 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.29 by $0.06. NIKE had a return on equity of 16.41% and a net margin of 4.84%.The company had revenue of $11.28 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $11.23 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.54 EPS. NIKE’s quarterly revenue was up .1% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast that NIKE will post 1.51 EPS for the current fiscal year.

NIKE Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 1st. Investors of record on Monday, June 1st will be given a dividend of $0.41 per share. This represents a $1.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 1st. NIKE’s dividend payout ratio is currently 108.61%.

Insider Transactions at NIKE

In other news, Director Timothy D. Cook purchased 25,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, April 10th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $42.43 per share, with a total value of $1,060,750.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 130,480 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,536,266.40. The trade was a 23.70% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Robert Holmes Swan purchased 11,781 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 7th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $42.44 per share, for a total transaction of $499,985.64. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 55,074 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,337,340.56. This represents a 27.21% increase in their position. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last quarter, insiders acquired 64,441 shares of company stock valued at $2,734,204. 0.80% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On NIKE

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Allen Capital Group LLC grew its stake in NIKE by 8.0% during the 1st quarter. Allen Capital Group LLC now owns 62,937 shares of the footwear maker’s stock worth $3,324,000 after buying an additional 4,687 shares during the last quarter. Axiom Investment Management LLC bought a new position in NIKE during the 1st quarter worth $70,000. Verus Capital Partners LLC grew its stake in NIKE by 2.2% during the 1st quarter. Verus Capital Partners LLC now owns 13,375 shares of the footwear maker’s stock worth $706,000 after buying an additional 283 shares during the last quarter. Essential Partners LLC grew its stake in NIKE by 9,560.0% during the 1st quarter. Essential Partners LLC now owns 966 shares of the footwear maker’s stock worth $51,000 after buying an additional 956 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Western Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in NIKE by 98.4% during the 1st quarter. Western Wealth Management LLC now owns 33,030 shares of the footwear maker’s stock worth $1,745,000 after buying an additional 16,383 shares during the last quarter. 64.25% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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).