NIKE (NYSE:NKE) Now Covered by Analysts at Needham & Company LLC

Needham & Company LLC initiated coverage on shares of NIKE (NYSE:NKE) in a report published on Friday morning, MarketBeat reports. The firm issued a buy rating and a $84.00 price objective on the footwear maker’s stock.

NKE has been the subject of several other reports. Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on NIKE from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, September 20th. Bank of America lowered their price target on NIKE from $104.00 to $100.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Evercore ISI decreased their price objective on NIKE from $110.00 to $105.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Truist Financial raised NIKE from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $83.00 to $97.00 in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada cut their price objective on NIKE from $82.00 to $80.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. Fourteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, NIKE currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $95.86.

NIKE Stock Performance

Shares of NKE stock opened at $79.26 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $80.50 and a 200 day moving average of $82.42. NIKE has a 52 week low of $70.75 and a 52 week high of $123.39. The firm has a market capitalization of $118.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.71, a PEG ratio of 1.88 and a beta of 1.03. The company has a quick ratio of 1.58, a current ratio of 2.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57.

NIKE (NYSE:NKE) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 1st. The footwear maker reported $0.70 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.52 by $0.18. The business had revenue of $11.59 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $11.64 billion. NIKE had a return on equity of 39.84% and a net margin of 10.60%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 10.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.94 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts expect that NIKE will post 2.75 earnings per share for the current year.

NIKE Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 2nd. Investors of record on Monday, December 2nd will be issued a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.02%. This is a positive change from NIKE’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.37. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 2nd. NIKE’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 45.85%.

Institutional Trading of NIKE

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of NKE. Teachers Insurance & Annuity Association of America acquired a new stake in NIKE in the third quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Transcendent Capital Group LLC grew its holdings in NIKE by 97.6% in the first quarter. Transcendent Capital Group LLC now owns 405 shares of the footwear maker’s stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the period. VitalStone Financial LLC grew its holdings in NIKE by 52.6% in the third quarter. VitalStone Financial LLC now owns 435 shares of the footwear maker’s stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 150 shares during the period. Dunhill Financial LLC grew its holdings in NIKE by 52.2% in the third quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 493 shares of the footwear maker’s stock valued at $44,000 after purchasing an additional 169 shares during the period. Finally, Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC grew its holdings in NIKE by 272.5% in the second quarter. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC now owns 514 shares of the footwear maker’s stock valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 376 shares during the period. 64.25% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.