NIKE (NYSE:NKE) Earns Neutral Rating from UBS Group

UBS Group reissued their neutral rating on shares of NIKE (NYSE:NKE) in a report released on Thursday,Benzinga reports. UBS Group currently has a $73.00 price target on the footwear maker’s stock.

NKE has been the subject of a number of other research reports. Evercore ISI lowered their target price on NIKE from $105.00 to $97.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, December 16th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on NIKE from $95.00 to $92.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, December 16th. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on NIKE from $80.00 to $74.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their target price on shares of NIKE from $82.00 to $80.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, November 7th. Finally, Barclays lowered their price target on shares of NIKE from $79.00 to $70.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, December 20th. Fifteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $89.58.

NIKE Price Performance

Shares of NKE stock opened at $76.94 on Thursday. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $77.60 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $80.14. 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 $109.96. The company has a market capitalization of $115.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.05, a P/E/G ratio of 1.89 and a beta of 1.02.

NIKE (NYSE:NKE) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, December 19th. The footwear maker reported $0.78 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.63 by $0.15. NIKE had a net margin of 10.60% and a return on equity of 39.84%. The business had revenue of $12.35 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $12.11 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.03 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 7.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that NIKE will post 2.72 EPS for the current year.

NIKE Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 2nd. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 2nd will be given a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 2nd. This is a positive change from NIKE’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.37. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.08%. NIKE’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 49.38%.

Institutional Trading of NIKE

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in NKE. Teachers Insurance & Annuity Association of America acquired a new position in NIKE during the third quarter valued at $30,000. VitalStone Financial LLC lifted its holdings in shares of NIKE by 52.6% in the 3rd quarter. VitalStone Financial LLC now owns 435 shares of the footwear maker’s stock valued at $38,000 after buying an additional 150 shares during the period. Dunhill Financial LLC lifted its holdings in shares of NIKE by 52.2% in the 3rd quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 493 shares of the footwear maker’s stock valued at $44,000 after buying an additional 169 shares during the period. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC purchased a new stake in shares of NIKE in the second quarter worth about $48,000. Finally, Ecofi Investissements SA acquired a new stake in NIKE during the second quarter worth about $49,000. 64.25% of the stock is 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.