NIKE, Inc. (NYSE:NKE) Short Interest Update

NIKE, Inc. (NYSE:NKE) saw a significant growth in short interest in the month of February. As of February 28th, there was short interest totalling 42,120,000 shares, a growth of 25.7% from the February 13th total of 33,510,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 13,280,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 3.2 days. Currently, 3.6% of the shares of the company are sold short.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently issued reports on NKE shares. Robert W. Baird dropped their price objective on shares of NIKE from $110.00 to $105.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, December 23rd. Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed a “market perform” rating and set a $80.00 price objective on shares of NIKE in a research note on Monday. Dbs Bank raised shares of NIKE from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. DA Davidson raised shares of NIKE to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 23rd. Finally, Guggenheim reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $110.00 price objective on shares of NIKE in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Fourteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $89.54.

NIKE Trading Down 0.6 %

NKE stock traded down $0.42 on Tuesday, hitting $73.28. 8,967,571 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 12,140,842. NIKE has a twelve month low of $68.62 and a twelve month high of $101.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57, a current ratio of 2.22 and a quick ratio of 1.51. The business’s fifty day moving average is $74.71 and its two-hundred day moving average is $77.71. The stock has a market capitalization of $108.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.62, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 1.02.

NIKE (NYSE:NKE) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, December 19th. The footwear maker reported $0.78 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.63 by $0.15. NIKE had a net margin of 9.98% and a return on equity of 36.99%. The firm had revenue of $12.35 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $12.11 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.03 earnings per share. NIKE’s revenue for the quarter was down 7.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts forecast that NIKE will post 2.05 earnings per share for the current year.

NIKE Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 3rd will be given a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.18%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 3rd. NIKE’s payout ratio is currently 49.38%.

Insider Activity at NIKE

In other NIKE news, Chairman Mark G. Parker sold 169,732 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.83, for a total value of $12,361,581.56. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman now owns 896,632 shares in the company, valued at approximately $65,301,708.56. This represents a 15.92 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director John W. Rogers, Jr. purchased 2,500 shares of NIKE stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 27th. The shares were bought at an average price of $76.65 per share, with a total value of $191,625.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 34,403 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,636,989.95. The trade was a 7.84 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On NIKE

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Teachers Insurance & Annuity Association of America acquired a new stake in NIKE during the 3rd quarter valued at $30,000. Caitlin John LLC grew its holdings in NIKE by 117.0% during the 4th quarter. Caitlin John LLC now owns 371 shares of the footwear maker’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. Heck Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in NIKE during the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. Roxbury Financial LLC acquired a new stake in NIKE during the 4th quarter valued at $30,000. Finally, LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA boosted its stake in NIKE by 110.5% during the 4th quarter. LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA now owns 400 shares of the footwear maker’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 210 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.