NIKE (NYSE:NKE) Research Coverage Started at China Renaissance

China Renaissance began coverage on shares of NIKE (NYSE:NKE) in a research report sent to investors on Wednesday morning, Marketbeat reports. The firm issued a hold rating on the footwear maker’s stock.

Several other research firms also recently commented on NKE. Bank of America dropped their target price on NIKE from $95.00 to $90.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Piper Sandler upgraded shares of NIKE from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their price target for the company from $72.00 to $90.00 in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price target on shares of NIKE from $79.00 to $75.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, December 20th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their price objective on NIKE from $92.00 to $82.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, December 16th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on NIKE from $95.00 to $92.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, December 16th. Fifteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $87.38.

NIKE Stock Performance

NYSE:NKE opened at $68.02 on Wednesday. NIKE has a twelve month low of $65.17 and a twelve month high of $98.04. The company has a quick ratio of 1.51, a current ratio of 2.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $74.70 and its 200 day simple moving average is $77.46. The firm has a market capitalization of $100.60 billion, a PE ratio of 20.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 1.02.

NIKE (NYSE:NKE) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 20th. The footwear maker reported $0.54 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.28 by $0.26. NIKE had a net margin of 9.98% and a return on equity of 36.99%. The business had revenue of $11.27 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $11.02 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.98 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 9.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts anticipate that NIKE will post 2.05 EPS for the current fiscal year.

NIKE Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 3rd will be paid a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.35%. NIKE’s payout ratio is 49.38%.

Insider Activity at NIKE

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of NKE. Empowered Funds LLC lifted its stake in NIKE by 10.7% during the third quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 23,214 shares of the footwear maker’s stock worth $2,052,000 after purchasing an additional 2,243 shares during the last quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans lifted its position in NIKE by 4.5% in the 3rd quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 66,417 shares of the footwear maker’s stock worth $5,875,000 after buying an additional 2,843 shares during the last quarter. Tranquility Partners LLC purchased a new stake in NIKE in the third quarter worth approximately $211,000. Prospera Financial Services Inc raised its stake in shares of NIKE by 13.5% during the third quarter. Prospera Financial Services Inc now owns 50,991 shares of the footwear maker’s stock worth $4,508,000 after acquiring an additional 6,066 shares in the last quarter. Finally, West Family Investments Inc. bought a new stake in shares of NIKE in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $342,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 64.25% of the company’s stock.

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.