NIKE (NYSE:NKE) Raised to “Buy” at Williams Trading

Williams Trading upgraded shares of NIKE (NYSE:NKE) from a sell rating to a buy rating in a research note published on Friday, Benzinga reports. Williams Trading currently has $93.00 price target on the footwear maker’s stock, up from their previous price target of $67.00.

NKE has been the topic of a number of other reports. KeyCorp reaffirmed a sector weight rating on shares of NIKE in a report on Friday, June 28th. StockNews.com downgraded NIKE from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research note on Friday, June 21st. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price target on NIKE from $100.00 to $75.00 and set a sector perform rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, July 2nd. Robert W. Baird decreased their price objective on shares of NIKE from $125.00 to $100.00 and set an outperform rating on the stock in a report on Friday, June 28th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus reissued a hold rating and issued a $88.00 price objective (down from $117.00) on shares of NIKE in a research report on Friday, June 28th. Fifteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $96.59.

NIKE Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE NKE opened at $83.23 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $125.62 billion, a PE ratio of 22.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 1.01. NIKE has a 52 week low of $70.75 and a 52 week high of $123.39. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $80.17 and a 200 day moving average price of $90.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a quick ratio of 1.69 and a current ratio of 2.40.

NIKE (NYSE:NKE) last released its earnings results on Thursday, June 27th. The footwear maker reported $1.01 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.85 by $0.16. NIKE had a net margin of 11.10% and a return on equity of 42.63%. The business had revenue of $12.60 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $12.86 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.66 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was down 1.6% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts predict that NIKE will post 3.12 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

NIKE Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 1st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 3rd will be given a $0.37 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 3rd. This represents a $1.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.78%. NIKE’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 39.68%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Chairman Mark G. Parker sold 110,000 shares of the company’s 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 directly owns 1,102,090 shares in the company, valued at $80,419,507.30. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other NIKE news, Director Robert Holmes Swan acquired 2,941 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 28th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $77.02 per share, with a total value of $226,515.82. Following the transaction, the director now owns 20,946 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,613,260.92. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Chairman Mark G. Parker sold 110,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 18th. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at approximately $80,419,507.30. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.50% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On NIKE

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Ecofi Investissements SA acquired a new stake in NIKE in the second quarter worth $49,000. Saratoga Research & Investment Management boosted its position in shares of NIKE by 20.1% during the 2nd quarter. Saratoga Research & Investment Management now owns 745,639 shares of the footwear maker’s stock worth $56,199,000 after purchasing an additional 124,621 shares in the last quarter. Kampmann Melissa S. grew its stake in shares of NIKE by 9.8% in the 2nd quarter. Kampmann Melissa S. now owns 17,937 shares of the footwear maker’s stock valued at $1,352,000 after buying an additional 1,607 shares during the period. Regal Investment Advisors LLC increased its position in NIKE by 7.1% in the 2nd quarter. Regal Investment Advisors LLC now owns 8,076 shares of the footwear maker’s stock valued at $609,000 after buying an additional 535 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Quarry LP raised its stake in NIKE by 55.7% during the 2nd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 1,517 shares of the footwear maker’s stock worth $114,000 after buying an additional 543 shares during the period. 64.25% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.