NIKE (NYSE:NKE) Shares Gap Up – Still a Buy?

NIKE, Inc. (NYSE:NKE) shares gapped up before the market opened on Monday . The stock had previously closed at $76.50, but opened at $78.88. NIKE shares last traded at $80.15, with a volume of 7,163,478 shares traded.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently weighed in on NKE. DA Davidson raised NIKE to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 23rd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their target price on NIKE from $92.00 to $82.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, December 16th. Robert W. Baird decreased their target price on NIKE from $110.00 to $105.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, December 23rd. Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed a “market perform” rating and issued a $80.00 target price on shares of NIKE in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Finally, Truist Financial decreased their target price on NIKE from $97.00 to $90.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Fourteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $89.77.

NIKE Trading Up 4.8 %

The company has a market capitalization of $118.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.77, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 1.01. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $74.31 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $78.16. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57, a current ratio of 2.22 and a quick ratio of 1.51.

NIKE (NYSE:NKE) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, December 19th. The footwear maker reported $0.78 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.63 by $0.15. The company had revenue of $12.35 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $12.11 billion. NIKE had a return on equity of 36.99% and a net margin of 9.98%. The firm’s revenue was down 7.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.03 earnings per share. On average, analysts forecast that NIKE, Inc. will post 2.05 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

NIKE Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 3rd will be given a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.00%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 3rd. NIKE’s dividend payout ratio is currently 49.38%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Chairman Mark G. Parker sold 169,732 shares of NIKE stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the chairman now directly 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 transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director John W. Rogers, Jr. bought 2,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 owns 34,403 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $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. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On NIKE

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Cypress Asset Management Inc. TX acquired a new stake in NIKE during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $309,000. Ascent Group LLC acquired a new stake in NIKE during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $214,000. Gould Capital LLC boosted its holdings in NIKE by 4,671.3% during the fourth quarter. Gould Capital LLC now owns 40,365 shares of the footwear maker’s stock valued at $3,054,000 after purchasing an additional 39,519 shares in the last quarter. Putney Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in NIKE during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $40,000. Finally, Perennial Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of NIKE in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,585,000. 64.25% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About NIKE

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.