NIKE (NYSE:NKE) Trading Up 3.2% – Here’s What Happened

NIKE, Inc. (NYSE:NKE)’s stock price rose 3.2% during mid-day trading on Friday . The company traded as high as $54.22 and last traded at $57.35. Approximately 16,282,663 shares changed hands during trading, an increase of 23% from the average daily volume of 13,253,903 shares. The stock had previously closed at $55.58.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have commented on NKE. BMO Capital Markets cut their target price on NIKE from $95.00 to $92.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, March 21st. Needham & Company LLC cut their price objective on shares of NIKE from $84.00 to $80.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, March 17th. Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed a “market perform” rating and set a $80.00 target price on shares of NIKE in a report on Monday, March 17th. Bank of America lowered their target price on shares of NIKE from $95.00 to $90.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Finally, DA Davidson upgraded shares of NIKE to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, December 23rd. Fifteen equities research 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, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $87.38.

NIKE Trading Up 2.9 %

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 $84.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.65, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 1.02. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $72.96 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $76.30.

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 company had revenue of $11.27 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $11.02 billion. NIKE had a net margin of 9.98% and a return on equity of 36.99%. NIKE’s revenue was down 9.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.98 earnings per share. On average, research analysts forecast that NIKE, Inc. will post 2.05 EPS for the current fiscal year.

NIKE Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Investors 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 2.80%. NIKE’s payout ratio is currently 53.16%.

Insider Activity at NIKE

In other 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 value of $12,361,581.56. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman now owns 896,632 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $65,301,708.56. The trade was a 15.92 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 1.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of NIKE

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Exeter Financial LLC increased its holdings in shares of NIKE by 14.4% in the 1st quarter. Exeter Financial LLC now owns 5,135 shares of the footwear maker’s stock worth $326,000 after purchasing an additional 645 shares in the last quarter. Quent Capital LLC boosted its position in shares of NIKE by 16.2% during the first quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 2,631 shares of the footwear maker’s stock valued at $167,000 after buying an additional 366 shares during the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc increased its holdings in NIKE by 156.6% in the 1st quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 6,017 shares of the footwear maker’s stock worth $382,000 after buying an additional 3,672 shares in the last quarter. Jacobs & Co. CA raised its position in NIKE by 1.7% in the 1st quarter. Jacobs & Co. CA now owns 159,631 shares of the footwear maker’s stock worth $10,133,000 after buying an additional 2,676 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Marcum Wealth LLC lifted its stake in NIKE by 9.1% during the 1st quarter. Marcum Wealth LLC now owns 12,065 shares of the footwear maker’s stock valued at $766,000 after acquiring an additional 1,003 shares during the period. 64.25% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.