NIKE’s (NKE) Buy Rating Reaffirmed at Sanford C. Bernstein

Sanford C. Bernstein reissued their buy rating on shares of NIKE (NYSE:NKE) in a research note released on Wednesday,MarketScreener reports.

A number of other brokerages have also recently weighed in on NKE. Williams Trading dropped their price target on NIKE from $80.00 to $57.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday. Oppenheimer reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of NIKE in a research note on Wednesday, December 17th. Bank of America reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $55.00 target price (down from $73.00) on shares of NIKE in a report on Wednesday. Needham & Company LLC downgraded shares of NIKE from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 8th. Finally, BNP Paribas Exane cut their price target on shares of NIKE from $35.00 to $23.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday. Nineteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $64.43.

NIKE Stock Performance

NKE opened at $44.72 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $66.21 billion, a PE ratio of 29.62, a P/E/G ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 1.31. The company has a quick ratio of 1.40, a current ratio of 2.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $59.27 and a 200-day simple moving average of $63.53. NIKE has a fifty-two week low of $44.56 and a fifty-two week high of $80.17.

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

NIKE Dividend Announcement

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Cornerstone Financial Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of NIKE during the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. Sankala Group LLC bought a new position in NIKE during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. J.Safra Asset Management Corp acquired a new stake in NIKE in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Kemnay Advisory Services Inc. acquired a new stake in NIKE in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Finally, Twin Peaks Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in NIKE in the second quarter worth approximately $31,000. 64.25% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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

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).