NIKE (NYSE:NKE) Raised to “Buy” at Williams Trading

Williams Trading upgraded shares of NIKE (NYSE:NKE) from a sell rating to a buy rating in a research note released on Friday morning, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has $93.00 target price on the footwear maker’s stock, up from their previous target price of $67.00.

A number of other research analysts also recently weighed in on the stock. TD Cowen lowered their price objective on shares of NIKE from $75.00 to $71.00 and set a hold rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, July 25th. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price target on NIKE from $90.00 to $80.00 in a research note on Friday, July 12th. Oppenheimer reiterated an outperform rating and set a $120.00 price objective on shares of NIKE in a research report on Friday, June 28th. Telsey Advisory Group dropped their target price on NIKE from $115.00 to $100.00 and set an outperform rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, June 28th. Finally, Evercore ISI reduced their price target on shares of NIKE from $110.00 to $105.00 and set an outperform rating for the company in a research report on Friday, June 28th. Fifteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, NIKE presently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $96.59.

NIKE Stock Performance

NKE stock opened at $83.29 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $79.91 and its 200 day simple moving average is $90.64. The company has a current ratio of 2.40, a quick ratio of 1.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55. NIKE has a 12-month low of $70.75 and a 12-month high of $123.39. The stock has a market capitalization of $125.71 billion, a PE ratio of 22.33, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 1.01.

NIKE (NYSE:NKE) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, June 27th. The footwear maker reported $1.01 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.85 by $0.16. NIKE had a return on equity of 42.63% and a net margin of 11.10%. The company had revenue of $12.60 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $12.86 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.66 earnings per share. NIKE’s revenue was down 1.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts forecast that NIKE will post 3.12 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

NIKE Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 1st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 3rd will be given a dividend of $0.37 per share. This represents a $1.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.78%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 3rd. NIKE’s dividend payout ratio is 39.68%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Chairman Mark G. Parker sold 110,000 shares of NIKE stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.97, for a total transaction of $8,026,700.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 1,102,090 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $80,419,507.30. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, Chairman Mark G. Parker sold 110,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $72.97, for a total transaction of $8,026,700.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman now owns 1,102,090 shares in the company, valued at approximately $80,419,507.30. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Chairman Mark G. Parker sold 52,487 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $78.00, for a total value of $4,093,986.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now owns 1,031,226 shares in the company, valued at approximately $80,435,628. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.50% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On NIKE

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Annapolis Financial Services LLC raised its position in NIKE by 440.0% during the 1st quarter. Annapolis Financial Services LLC now owns 270 shares of the footwear maker’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 220 shares in the last quarter. True Wealth Design LLC raised its holdings in shares of NIKE by 106.4% in the fourth quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 291 shares of the footwear maker’s stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 150 shares in the last quarter. Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in NIKE in the fourth quarter worth about $33,000. Core Wealth Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in NIKE by 408.5% during the 4th quarter. Core Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 300 shares of the footwear maker’s stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 241 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Gold Investment Management Ltd. purchased a new position in NIKE during the 4th quarter valued at about $36,000. 64.25% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About NIKE

NIKE, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, designs, develops, markets, and sells athletic footwear, apparel, equipment, accessories, and services worldwide. The company provides athletic and casual footwear, apparel, and accessories under the Jumpman trademark; and casual sneakers, apparel, and accessories under the Converse, Chuck Taylor, All Star, One Star, Star Chevron, and Jack Purcell trademarks.