NIKE (NYSE:NKE) Shares Gap Up Following Analyst Upgrade

NIKE, Inc. (NYSE:NKE) gapped up before the market opened on Friday after Evercore ISI raised their price target on the stock from $105.00 to $110.00. The stock had previously closed at $80.98, but opened at $87.87. Evercore ISI currently has an outperform rating on the stock. NIKE shares last traded at $87.35, with a volume of 8,438,793 shares changing hands.

Other equities analysts also recently issued research reports about the stock. KeyCorp reissued a “sector weight” rating on shares of NIKE in a research note on Friday, June 28th. Citigroup decreased their target price on shares of NIKE from $115.00 to $102.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, June 28th. BMO Capital Markets cut their price target on NIKE from $118.00 to $100.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, June 28th. Oppenheimer reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $120.00 price objective on shares of NIKE in a research note on Friday, June 28th. Finally, Guggenheim lowered their target price on NIKE from $130.00 to $115.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, June 28th. Fifteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, NIKE presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $95.89.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other NIKE news, Chairman Mark G. Parker sold 110,000 shares of NIKE stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $72.97, for a total value of $8,026,700.00. Following the sale, the chairman now owns 1,102,090 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $80,419,507.30. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other NIKE news, Chairman Mark G. Parker sold 110,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $72.97, for a total value of $8,026,700.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman now owns 1,102,090 shares in the company, valued at $80,419,507.30. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Chairman Mark G. Parker sold 52,487 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $78.00, for a total transaction of $4,093,986.00. Following the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 1,031,226 shares in the company, valued at $80,435,628. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.50% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On NIKE

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Beta Wealth Group Inc. increased its position in shares of NIKE by 2.3% in the fourth quarter. Beta Wealth Group Inc. now owns 4,501 shares of the footwear maker’s stock worth $489,000 after acquiring an additional 101 shares in the last quarter. Kampmann Melissa S. grew its stake in shares of NIKE by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. Kampmann Melissa S. now owns 15,050 shares of the footwear maker’s stock valued at $1,634,000 after buying an additional 115 shares in the last quarter. Ascent Wealth Partners LLC increased its holdings in NIKE by 0.4% in the first quarter. Ascent Wealth Partners LLC now owns 28,513 shares of the footwear maker’s stock worth $2,680,000 after buying an additional 115 shares during the last quarter. Condor Capital Management increased its holdings in NIKE by 0.4% in the first quarter. Condor Capital Management now owns 26,079 shares of the footwear maker’s stock worth $2,451,000 after buying an additional 116 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bell Investment Advisors Inc raised its position in NIKE by 4.7% during the fourth quarter. Bell Investment Advisors Inc now owns 2,610 shares of the footwear maker’s stock valued at $283,000 after acquiring an additional 118 shares in the last quarter. 64.25% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

NIKE Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a current ratio of 2.40 and a quick ratio of 1.69. The stock has a market capitalization of $129.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.42, a PEG ratio of 2.08 and a beta of 1.02. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $77.84 and its 200-day simple moving average is $87.23.

NIKE (NYSE:NKE) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, June 27th. The footwear maker reported $1.01 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.85 by $0.16. The firm had revenue of $12.60 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $12.86 billion. NIKE had a net margin of 11.10% and a return on equity of 42.63%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 1.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.66 EPS. On average, analysts expect that NIKE, Inc. will post 3.06 EPS for the current fiscal year.

NIKE Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 1st. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 3rd will be given a dividend of $0.37 per share. This represents a $1.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.73%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 3rd. NIKE’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 39.68%.

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.