Royal Bank Of Canada Cuts NIKE (NYSE:NKE) Price Target to $40.00

NIKE (NYSE:NKE) had its target price cut by Royal Bank Of Canada from $45.00 to $40.00 in a research report report published on Tuesday morning, MarketBeat reports. They currently have a sector perform rating on the footwear maker’s stock.

A number of other equities research analysts have also weighed in on the stock. HSBC cut their target price on shares of NIKE from $48.00 to $40.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “buy” rating on shares of NIKE in a research note on Monday. CICC Research lowered their price objective on shares of NIKE from $58.00 to $44.80 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, July 2nd. Benchmark upgraded shares of NIKE to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 22nd. Finally, Raymond James Financial reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of NIKE in a research report on Tuesday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have given a Buy rating, twenty-one have given a Hold rating and seven have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $46.62.

NIKE Stock Performance

Shares of NKE stock opened at $35.05 on Tuesday. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $39.04 and a 200 day moving average of $42.94. NIKE has a 52 week low of $35.02 and a 52 week high of $76.97. The firm has a market capitalization of $51.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.77, a PEG ratio of 2.43 and a beta of 1.09. 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 (NYSE:NKE) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 1st. The footwear maker reported $0.48 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.43 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $11.21 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $11.32 billion. NIKE had a net margin of 6.70% and a return on equity of 16.54%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.49 earnings per share. NIKE has set its FY 2027 guidance at 1.150-1.350 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that NIKE will post 1.61 earnings per share for the current year.

NIKE Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 1st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 1st were paid a dividend of $0.41 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, September 1st. This represents a $1.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.7%. NIKE’s dividend payout ratio is currently 78.47%.

Insider Activity at NIKE

In other news, COO Venkatesh Alagirisamy sold 3,671 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $37.59, for a total transaction of $137,992.89. Following the sale, the chief operating officer owned 104,862 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,941,762.58. This trade represents a 3.38% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CFO Matthew Friend sold 2,463 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $41.60, for a total transaction of $102,460.80. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 82,165 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,418,064. The trade was a 2.91% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold a total of 14,974 shares of company stock worth $600,126 over the last quarter. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On NIKE

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of NKE. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in NIKE by 2.2% in the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 59,315,606 shares of the footwear maker’s stock valued at $3,802,807,000 after acquiring an additional 1,275,494 shares during the period. Capital World Investors boosted its position in NIKE by 16.2% in 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 last quarter. J. Stern & Co. LLP grew its stake in shares of NIKE by 49,010.4% during the 4th 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. Janus Henderson Group PLC grew its stake in shares of NIKE by 12.5% during the 4th quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 7,887,609 shares of the footwear maker’s stock valued at $502,537,000 after purchasing an additional 874,662 shares during the period. Finally, Flossbach Von Storch SE purchased a new stake in shares of NIKE during the 2nd quarter valued at about $488,714,000. 64.25% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

NIKE News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting NIKE this week:

• Positive Sentiment: NIKE reported quarterly adjusted earnings of $0.48 per share, ahead of the $0.43 analyst consensus, although earnings were slightly below the $0.49 reported a year earlier. Nike Q1 Earnings Surpass Estimates
• Positive Sentiment: The company said its “Sport Offense” is producing progress in performance products, while the new Caitlin Clark signature shoe reportedly sold nearly out shortly after launch. These developments could support product momentum, though they are not yet large enough to offset broader weakness. Nike Caitlin Clark Shoes Nearly Sold Out
• Neutral Sentiment: NIKE announced “Pace,” a restructuring and execution plan intended to accelerate its turnaround. Management acknowledged that more work is needed in Sportswear, Jordan Brand and Greater China, suggesting potential benefits are longer term. NIKE Fiscal 2027 First-Quarter Results
• Negative Sentiment: Revenue totaled $11.21 billion, below the $11.32 billion consensus and down 4.3% year over year. Weakness in China and the sneaker business remains a central problem. Nike’s Troubles Are Mounting
• Negative Sentiment: Fiscal 2027 adjusted EPS guidance of $1.15 to $1.35 was well below the approximately $1.66 Wall Street expectation. NIKE also expects a high-single-digit percentage sales decline, implying that business conditions may worsen before improving. Nike Warns of High-Single-Digit Revenue Decline
• Negative Sentiment: Plans to cut additional jobs and the weaker forecast have increased doubts about the pace of CEO Elliott Hill’s turnaround, putting further pressure on the stock’s valuation and investor confidence. Nike Issues Bleak Forecast and Plans More Job Cuts

NIKE Company Profile

NIKE, Inc is a global sportswear company that designs, develops, markets and sells athletic footwear, apparel, equipment, accessories and related services. Its products are marketed under the NIKE, Jordan and Converse brands and are used across a broad range of sports and lifestyle activities, including running, basketball, football, training and outdoor pursuits.

The company distributes its products through a combination of wholesale partners, NIKE-owned retail stores and digital platforms.