NIKE (NYSE:NKE) Stock Price Up 4.1% – Here’s What Happened

NIKE, Inc. (NYSE:NKE) shares were up 4.1% during trading on Friday . The stock traded as high as $56.02 and last traded at $55.73. Approximately 18,891,139 shares traded hands during trading, an increase of 33% from the average daily volume of 14,180,177 shares. The stock had previously closed at $53.55.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently commented on NKE. Citigroup downgraded NIKE from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their price objective for the stock from $102.00 to $72.00 in a report on Friday, February 7th. Bank of America dropped their target price on NIKE from $95.00 to $90.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Barclays dropped their price target on shares of NIKE from $79.00 to $70.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on shares of NIKE from $72.00 to $70.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, March 21st. Finally, Berenberg Bank initiated coverage on NIKE in a report on Tuesday. They issued a “hold” rating and a $58.00 target price on the stock. Sixteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, NIKE has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $85.15.

NIKE Price Performance

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 market capitalization of $82.44 billion, a PE ratio of 17.20, a P/E/G ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 1.15. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $68.71 and its 200 day moving average is $74.09.

NIKE (NYSE:NKE) last released its quarterly earnings results 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. The firm had revenue of $11.27 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $11.02 billion. NIKE had a return on equity of 36.99% and a net margin of 9.98%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 9.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.98 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that NIKE, Inc. will post 2.05 earnings per share for the current year.

NIKE Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 3rd were paid a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.87%. NIKE’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 53.16%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Chairman Mark G. Parker sold 169,732 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the chairman now directly owns 896,632 shares in the company, valued at $65,301,708.56. The trade was a 15.92 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Robert Holmes Swan acquired 8,600 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, April 4th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $58.46 per share, for a total transaction of $502,756.00. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 31,983 shares in the company, valued at $1,869,726.18. This represents a 36.78 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Corporate insiders own 1.10% 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. Range Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in NIKE during the fourth quarter worth approximately $642,000. Cacti Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of NIKE during the 4th quarter worth about $9,987,000. Capricorn Fund Managers Ltd purchased a new stake in NIKE during the fourth quarter worth approximately $5,384,000. Klein Pavlis & Peasley Financial Inc. raised its stake in shares of NIKE by 31.1% in the 4th quarter. Klein Pavlis & Peasley Financial Inc. now owns 25,835 shares of the footwear maker’s stock valued at $1,955,000 after acquiring an additional 6,124 shares during the period. Finally, FNY Investment Advisers LLC lifted its holdings in shares of NIKE by 5,745.9% during the 4th quarter. FNY Investment Advisers LLC now owns 8,652 shares of the footwear maker’s stock valued at $654,000 after acquiring an additional 8,504 shares in 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.