NIKE (NYSE:NKE) Earns “Market Perform” Rating from Telsey Advisory Group

Telsey Advisory Group reissued their market perform rating on shares of NIKE (NYSE:NKE) in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. Telsey Advisory Group currently has a $80.00 target price on the footwear maker’s stock.

Several other brokerages have also recently commented on NKE. Citigroup cut NIKE from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $102.00 to $72.00 in a report on Friday, February 7th. Evercore ISI dropped their price objective on NIKE from $105.00 to $97.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, December 16th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on NIKE from $95.00 to $92.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, December 16th. Guggenheim reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $110.00 price target on shares of NIKE in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC restated a “buy” rating and set a $84.00 price objective on shares of NIKE in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Fifteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $88.62.

NIKE Trading Down 1.0 %

Shares of NKE stock opened at $76.80 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $113.60 billion, a PE ratio of 23.70, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.38 and a beta of 1.01. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57, a quick ratio of 1.51 and a current ratio of 2.22. NIKE has a 1 year low of $68.62 and a 1 year high of $106.62. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $74.34 and a two-hundred day moving average of $78.06.

NIKE (NYSE:NKE) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, December 19th. The footwear maker reported $0.78 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 firm posted $1.03 EPS. NIKE’s revenue was down 7.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts expect that NIKE will post 2.05 EPS for the current year.

NIKE Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Shareholders 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 yield of 2.08%. NIKE’s dividend payout ratio is presently 49.38%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On NIKE

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Teachers Insurance & Annuity Association of America bought a new position in shares of NIKE during the 3rd quarter valued at $30,000. Caitlin John LLC increased its position in NIKE by 117.0% during the fourth quarter. Caitlin John LLC now owns 371 shares of the footwear maker’s stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. Heck Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in NIKE during the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. Roxbury Financial LLC acquired a new stake in shares of NIKE in the fourth quarter worth about $30,000. Finally, LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA boosted its stake in shares of NIKE by 110.5% during the 4th quarter. LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA now owns 400 shares of the footwear maker’s stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 210 shares in the last quarter. 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.