NIKE, Inc. (NYSE:NKE) Given Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” by Analysts

Shares of NIKE, Inc. (NYSE:NKE) have been assigned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the thirty analysts that are covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Fourteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, fifteen have assigned a buy recommendation and one has assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year target price among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $89.58.

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. TD Cowen decreased their price target on NIKE from $78.00 to $73.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, November 18th. Sanford C. Bernstein decreased their target price on shares of NIKE from $112.00 to $109.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, September 19th. Robert W. Baird lowered their price target on shares of NIKE from $110.00 to $105.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, December 23rd. Barclays reduced their price objective on shares of NIKE from $79.00 to $70.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reissued a “buy” rating and set a $84.00 target price on shares of NIKE in a research note on Friday, December 20th.

NIKE Stock Down 1.1 %

NYSE:NKE opened at $71.31 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57, a current ratio of 2.36 and a quick ratio of 1.58. NIKE has a one year low of $70.75 and a one year high of $107.43. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $76.54 and its 200 day simple moving average is $78.70. The company has a market cap of $106.92 billion, a PE ratio of 20.43, a P/E/G ratio of 1.89 and a beta of 1.02.

NIKE (NYSE:NKE) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, December 19th. The footwear maker reported $0.78 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.63 by $0.15. The company had revenue of $12.35 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $12.11 billion. NIKE had a net margin of 10.60% and a return on equity of 39.84%. NIKE’s revenue for the quarter was down 7.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.03 earnings per share. On average, research analysts anticipate that NIKE will post 2.72 earnings per share for the current year.

NIKE Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 2nd. Investors of record on Monday, December 2nd were issued a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.24%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 2nd. This is a positive change from NIKE’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.37. NIKE’s dividend payout ratio is currently 49.38%.

Insider Buying and Selling at NIKE

In other news, Director John W. Rogers, Jr. bought 2,500 shares of NIKE stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 27th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $76.65 per share, for a total transaction of $191,625.00. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 34,403 shares in the company, valued at $2,636,989.95. The trade was a 7.84 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. International Assets Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of NIKE during the 4th quarter valued at $512,000. Range Financial Group LLC bought a new position in NIKE during the fourth quarter valued at about $642,000. Advance Capital Management Inc. purchased a new stake in NIKE during the fourth quarter worth about $214,000. Doliver Advisors LP bought a new stake in NIKE in the fourth quarter worth about $252,000. Finally, Iowa State Bank raised its position in NIKE by 5.9% in the fourth quarter. Iowa State Bank now owns 31,349 shares of the footwear maker’s stock worth $2,372,000 after acquiring an additional 1,738 shares during the period. 64.25% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

NIKE Company Profile

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.