NIKE (NYSE:NKE) Lowered to “Neutral” Rating by Citigroup

Citigroup cut shares of NIKE (NYSE:NKE) from a buy rating to a neutral rating in a research note issued to investors on Friday, MarketBeat Ratings reports. They currently have $72.00 price objective on the footwear maker’s stock, down from their previous price objective of $102.00.

NKE has been the subject of a number of other research reports. Evercore ISI decreased their price objective on shares of NIKE from $105.00 to $97.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, December 16th. UBS Group reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $73.00 price target on shares of NIKE in a report on Thursday, December 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on NIKE from $77.00 to $73.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, December 2nd. Barclays reduced their target price on NIKE from $79.00 to $70.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on NIKE from $95.00 to $92.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, December 16th. Fifteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $88.62.

NIKE Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE NKE opened at $68.69 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57, a quick ratio of 1.51 and a current ratio of 2.22. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $75.32 and a 200 day moving average price of $78.05. The stock has a market capitalization of $101.60 billion, a PE ratio of 21.20, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.34 and a beta of 1.01. NIKE has a 52 week low of $68.62 and a 52 week high of $107.43.

NIKE (NYSE:NKE) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, December 19th. The footwear maker reported $0.78 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.63 by $0.15. The company had revenue of $12.35 billion during 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 for the quarter was down 7.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.03 EPS. Analysts predict that NIKE will post 2.05 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

NIKE Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 2nd. Investors of record on Monday, December 2nd were given a dividend of $0.40 per share. This is a boost from NIKE’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.37. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 2nd. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.33%. NIKE’s dividend payout ratio is currently 49.38%.

Insider Buying and Selling at NIKE

In other news, Director John W. Rogers, Jr. purchased 2,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 27th. The stock was bought at an average price of $76.65 per share, with a total value of $191,625.00. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 34,403 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,636,989.95. The trade was a 7.84 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Garrison Point Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of NIKE by 1.9% in the 3rd quarter. Garrison Point Advisors LLC now owns 6,704 shares of the footwear maker’s stock valued at $593,000 after purchasing an additional 126 shares during the last quarter. Stephens Consulting LLC boosted its stake in NIKE by 20.0% in the third quarter. Stephens Consulting LLC now owns 768 shares of the footwear maker’s stock valued at $68,000 after buying an additional 128 shares in the last quarter. PSI Advisors LLC grew its position in NIKE by 26.3% in the third quarter. PSI Advisors LLC now owns 624 shares of the footwear maker’s stock valued at $55,000 after acquiring an additional 130 shares during the last quarter. JNBA Financial Advisors raised its stake in NIKE by 1.3% during the fourth quarter. JNBA Financial Advisors now owns 10,045 shares of the footwear maker’s stock worth $760,000 after acquiring an additional 131 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Meridian Financial Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of NIKE by 1.6% in the third quarter. Meridian Financial Partners LLC now owns 8,396 shares of the footwear maker’s stock worth $742,000 after acquiring an additional 133 shares during the last quarter. 64.25% of the stock is currently 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.