NIKE (NYSE:NKE) Earns “Buy” Rating from Royal Bank Of Canada

NIKE (NYSE:NKE)‘s stock had its “buy” rating reissued by stock analysts at Royal Bank Of Canada in a note issued to investors on Tuesday,MarketScreener reports.

A number of other analysts have also commented on the company. Oppenheimer reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of NIKE in a research report on Wednesday, December 17th. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $77.00 target price on NIKE in a research note on Friday, December 19th. Bank of America reduced their price target on NIKE from $84.00 to $73.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, December 19th. Telsey Advisory Group cut their price target on NIKE from $75.00 to $72.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, December 19th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company set a $65.00 target price on NIKE and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, December 19th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-five have assigned a Buy rating, nine have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, NIKE currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $75.45.

NIKE Trading Down 1.5%

NIKE stock opened at $63.54 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $93.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.72 and a beta of 1.28. NIKE has a 12 month low of $52.28 and a 12 month high of $82.44. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $63.51 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $69.45. The company has a quick ratio of 1.40, a current ratio of 2.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50.

NIKE (NYSE:NKE) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, December 18th. The footwear maker reported $0.53 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.37 by $0.16. The firm had revenue of $12.43 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $12.19 billion. NIKE had a return on equity of 18.43% and a net margin of 5.43%.The company’s revenue for the quarter was up .6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.78 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that NIKE will post 2.05 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Robert Holmes Swan acquired 8,691 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, December 22nd. The stock was bought at an average price of $57.54 per share, with a total value of $500,080.14. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 43,293 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,491,079.22. The trade was a 25.12% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Elliott Hill bought 16,388 shares of NIKE stock in a transaction on Monday, December 29th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $61.10 per share, with a total value of $1,001,306.80. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer directly owned 241,587 shares in the company, valued at $14,760,965.70. This trade represents a 7.28% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have bought a total of 91,229 shares of company stock worth $5,452,640 over the last ninety days. 0.80% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On NIKE

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Brighton Jones LLC increased its position in shares of NIKE by 388.5% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 202,411 shares of the footwear maker’s stock worth $15,316,000 after buying an additional 160,980 shares during the period. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC raised its holdings in NIKE by 2.9% in the 1st quarter. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC now owns 53,131 shares of the footwear maker’s stock worth $3,394,000 after acquiring an additional 1,514 shares during the last quarter. Caxton Associates LLP purchased a new stake in NIKE in the first quarter worth about $311,000. Ascent Group LLC grew its holdings in NIKE by 108.8% during the 1st quarter. Ascent Group LLC now owns 5,897 shares of the footwear maker’s stock valued at $374,000 after buying an additional 3,073 shares in the last quarter. Finally, MBB Public Markets I LLC purchased a new position in NIKE during the first quarter worth $276,000. 64.25% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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).