NIKE, Inc. (NYSE:NKE) Given Average Rating of “Hold” by Brokerages

NIKE, Inc. (NYSE:NKE) has been assigned a consensus recommendation of “Hold” from the thirty-six ratings firms that are covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eighteen have assigned a hold rating and fifteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 12 month price objective among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $60.8879.

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on NKE shares. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price objective on shares of NIKE from $110.00 to $90.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 1st. Telsey Advisory Group dropped their price objective on shares of NIKE from $65.00 to $55.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 1st. Williams Trading lowered their price target on shares of NIKE from $80.00 to $57.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 1st. DZ Bank restated a “buy” rating on shares of NIKE in a report on Tuesday, April 21st. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their price target on shares of NIKE from $54.00 to $51.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 1st.

NIKE Stock Down 4.4%

Shares of NYSE NKE opened at $43.22 on Thursday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $44.38 and a 200 day simple moving average of $54.56. The firm has a market cap of $64.00 billion, a PE ratio of 28.62, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.96 and a beta of 1.12. NIKE has a 1 year low of $41.35 and a 1 year high of $80.17. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a current ratio of 2.14 and a quick ratio of 1.45.

NIKE (NYSE:NKE) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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. The business had revenue of $11.28 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $11.23 billion. NIKE had a net margin of 4.84% and a return on equity of 16.41%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up .1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.54 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that NIKE will post 1.49 EPS for the current year.

NIKE Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 1st will be issued a dividend of $0.41 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 1st. This represents a $1.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.8%. NIKE’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 108.61%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Elliott Hill purchased 23,660 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, April 13th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $42.27 per share, for a total transaction of $1,000,108.20. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer owned 265,247 shares in the company, valued at $11,211,990.69. This trade represents a 9.79% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Timothy D. Cook purchased 25,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, April 10th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $42.43 per share, with a total value of $1,060,750.00. Following the acquisition, 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 SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. In the last quarter, insiders have purchased 64,441 shares of company stock worth $2,734,204. 0.80% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Sapient Capital LLC raised its holdings in NIKE by 4.2% during the 1st quarter. Sapient Capital LLC now owns 8,233 shares of the footwear maker’s stock worth $439,000 after purchasing an additional 331 shares during the last quarter. Western Wealth Management LLC grew its position in shares of 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 period. E Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of NIKE during the 1st quarter worth approximately $279,000. FAS Wealth Partners Inc. grew its position in shares of NIKE by 4.2% during the 1st quarter. FAS Wealth Partners Inc. now owns 6,109 shares of the footwear maker’s stock worth $323,000 after buying an additional 249 shares during the period. Finally, Pine Valley Investments Ltd Liability Co grew its position in shares of NIKE by 43.2% during the 1st quarter. Pine Valley Investments Ltd Liability Co now owns 41,295 shares of the footwear maker’s stock worth $2,182,000 after buying an additional 12,464 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 64.25% of the company’s stock.

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).