NIKE (NYSE:NKE) Rating Increased to Hold at Benchmark

Benchmark upgraded shares of NIKE (NYSE:NKE) to a hold rating in a research note published on Tuesday morning,Zacks reports.

A number of other equities research analysts have also issued reports on NKE. China Renaissance dropped their target price on NIKE from $50.30 to $47.30 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, July 2nd. CICC Research cut their price target on shares of NIKE from $58.00 to $44.80 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, July 2nd. Oppenheimer set a $52.00 price objective on shares of NIKE and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Guggenheim restated a “buy” rating and issued a $60.00 price objective (down from $74.00) on shares of NIKE in a report on Wednesday, July 1st. Finally, Truist Financial set a $42.00 target price on NIKE and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 26th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have assigned a Buy rating, twenty-two have given a Hold rating and six have issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, NIKE has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $48.41.

NIKE Trading Down 0.4%

NKE stock opened at $35.95 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.36, a current ratio of 1.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40. NIKE has a twelve month low of $35.35 and a twelve month high of $76.97. The company has a market cap of $53.33 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.20, a PEG ratio of 1.84 and a beta of 1.10. The business has a fifty day moving average of $39.91 and a 200-day moving average of $43.78.

NIKE (NYSE:NKE) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, June 30th. The footwear maker reported $0.20 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.11 by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $10.97 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.85 billion. NIKE had a return on equity of 16.54% and a net margin of 6.70%.The company’s revenue was down 1.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.14 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that NIKE will post 1.67 EPS for the current year.

NIKE Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 1st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 1st will be issued a $0.41 dividend. This represents a $1.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 1st. NIKE’s dividend payout ratio is presently 78.47%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, COO Venkatesh Alagirisamy sold 3,671 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $37.59, for a total value of $137,992.89. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer directly owned 104,862 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,941,762.58. This trade represents a 3.38% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Amy Montagne sold 4,867 shares of NIKE stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $42.05, for a total value of $204,657.35. Following the transaction, the insider owned 57,436 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,415,183.80. This represents a 7.81% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 14,974 shares of company stock worth $600,126. Company insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On NIKE

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. J. Stern & Co. LLP raised its position in shares of NIKE by 49,010.4% in the fourth quarter. J. Stern & Co. LLP now owns 48,054,542 shares of the footwear maker’s stock valued at $3,061,555,000 after purchasing an additional 47,956,692 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of NIKE during the fourth quarter worth approximately $829,956,000. Flossbach Von Storch SE bought a new stake in shares of NIKE during the second quarter worth approximately $488,714,000. Capital World Investors increased its stake in shares of NIKE by 16.2% during the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 49,069,951 shares of the footwear maker’s stock worth $3,126,246,000 after purchasing an additional 6,830,938 shares during the period. Finally, State Street Corp increased its stake in shares of NIKE by 6.8% during the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 63,598,789 shares of the footwear maker’s stock worth $2,636,104,000 after purchasing an additional 4,052,428 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 64.25% of the company’s stock.

More NIKE News

Here are the key news stories impacting NIKE this week:

• Positive Sentiment: BTIG reaffirmed its Buy rating and set a $55 price target, implying substantial upside from recent trading levels. BTIG rating and Nike earnings preview
• Positive Sentiment: JD Sports’ finance chief said Nike remains a very strong brand and that its turnaround is likely a matter of time. The comments support confidence in Nike’s wholesale relationships and brand strength. JD Sports comments on Nike turnaround
• Positive Sentiment: Nike enters the earnings period with potential support from its prior earnings beat: the company exceeded consensus EPS and revenue expectations in its latest reported quarter. Investors are watching for further margin improvement and stronger performance categories.
• Neutral Sentiment: Analysts and investors are focused on channel inventory, promotional activity, wholesale sell-through, and whether Nike can rebuild demand without relying heavily on discounts. Nike athletic-apparel market analysis
• Neutral Sentiment: Nike’s low valuation and depressed share price may attract long-term investors, but the stock’s recovery depends on proving that gross margins and earnings estimates have bottomed. Nike gross-margin and earnings outlook
• Negative Sentiment: Barclays lowered its price target to $48 ahead of earnings, while Stifel reportedly cut its target to $40. The reductions reflect concerns that weak lifestyle demand could offset progress in performance products and margins. Barclays cuts Nike price target
• Negative Sentiment: Commentary indicates that accelerating growth may take longer than expected, keeping earnings estimates and investor confidence constrained. Nike growth outlook
• Negative Sentiment: Adidas is currently showing stronger sales momentum and faster direct-to-consumer growth, increasing competitive pressure on Nike. Nike versus Adidas comparison
• Negative Sentiment: Nike-owned Converse pulled an advertisement after backlash over alleged KKK imagery, creating a reputational risk, although the issue is separate from Nike’s core operating outlook. Converse advertisement controversy

About NIKE

NIKE, Inc is a global athletic footwear, apparel and equipment company headquartered near Beaverton, Oregon. The company designs, develops and markets products under the NIKE, Jordan and Converse brands, serving athletes and consumers across a broad range of sports and lifestyle categories.

NIKE’s offerings include athletic and casual footwear, sportswear, apparel, accessories and athletic equipment. The company distributes its products through company-owned retail stores, digital platforms, wholesale partners and independent distributors.