NIKE (NYSE:NKE) Upgraded to “Buy” by StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of NIKE (NYSE:NKE) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research note released on Thursday morning.

Other equities research analysts also recently issued reports about the stock. Citigroup lowered their target price on shares of NIKE from $135.00 to $125.00 and set a buy rating for the company in a report on Thursday, March 14th. UBS Group lowered their target price on shares of NIKE from $138.00 to $125.00 and set a buy rating for the company in a report on Friday, March 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on shares of NIKE from $120.00 to $115.00 and set an overweight rating for the company in a report on Monday, June 10th. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price objective on shares of NIKE from $129.00 to $117.00 and set a buy rating for the company in a research note on Friday, March 22nd. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price objective on shares of NIKE from $135.00 to $120.00 and set a buy rating for the company in a research note on Friday, March 22nd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and twenty-one have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $115.59.

NIKE Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE NKE opened at $93.39 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $140.96 billion, a PE ratio of 27.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 1.05. NIKE has a 12 month low of $88.66 and a 12 month high of $123.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63, a current ratio of 2.74 and a quick ratio of 1.89. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $93.14 and a 200-day simple moving average of $100.45.

NIKE (NYSE:NKE) last released its earnings results on Thursday, March 21st. The footwear maker reported $0.98 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.69 by $0.29. NIKE had a net margin of 10.14% and a return on equity of 39.41%. The firm had revenue of $12.43 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $12.28 billion. On average, equities analysts anticipate that NIKE will post 3.76 earnings per share for the current year.

NIKE Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 1st. Investors of record on Monday, June 3rd will be issued a $0.37 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 3rd. This represents a $1.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.58%. NIKE’s dividend payout ratio is presently 43.53%.

Insider Activity at NIKE

In other NIKE news, EVP Monique S. Matheson sold 45,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $94.16, for a total transaction of $4,237,200.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 44,997 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,236,917.52. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other NIKE news, VP Johanna Nielsen sold 282 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $93.64, for a total transaction of $26,406.48. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 730 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $68,357.20. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Monique S. Matheson sold 45,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $94.16, for a total transaction of $4,237,200.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 44,997 shares in the company, valued at $4,236,917.52. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 213,660 shares of company stock valued at $19,946,333 over the last ninety days. 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 company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in NIKE by 0.5% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 110,044,821 shares of the footwear maker’s stock valued at $10,342,012,000 after buying an additional 501,792 shares in the last quarter. Capital International Investors grew its position in NIKE by 34.9% in the 4th quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 27,609,613 shares of the footwear maker’s stock valued at $2,997,628,000 after buying an additional 7,143,775 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC grew its position in NIKE by 0.7% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 18,502,409 shares of the footwear maker’s stock valued at $1,769,200,000 after buying an additional 125,746 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its position in NIKE by 87.5% in the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 17,135,431 shares of the footwear maker’s stock valued at $1,860,395,000 after buying an additional 7,996,434 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp grew its position in NIKE by 4.5% in the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 15,557,676 shares of the footwear maker’s stock valued at $1,487,625,000 after buying an additional 674,198 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 64.25% of the company’s stock.

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.