NIKE (NYSE:NKE) Stock Price Down 0.3% – What’s Next?

NIKE, Inc. (NYSE:NKE)’s stock price fell 0.3% on Wednesday . The stock traded as low as $54.41 and last traded at $54.64. 4,766,557 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 74% from the average session volume of 18,135,016 shares. The stock had previously closed at $54.83.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

NKE has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. DA Davidson raised shares of NIKE to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 23rd. China Renaissance assumed coverage on shares of NIKE in a research note on Wednesday, March 19th. They issued a “hold” rating on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of NIKE from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $75.00 to $115.00 in a research note on Monday, February 24th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on NIKE from $72.00 to $70.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, March 21st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on NIKE from $73.00 to $64.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, March 21st. Sixteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, NIKE has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $85.15.

NIKE Stock Performance

The company has a current ratio of 2.22, a quick ratio of 1.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57. The company has a market cap of $79.06 billion, a PE ratio of 16.50, a P/E/G ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 1.15. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $69.31 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $74.45.

NIKE (NYSE:NKE) last released its earnings results on Thursday, March 20th. The footwear maker reported $0.54 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.28 by $0.26. NIKE had a return on equity of 36.99% and a net margin of 9.98%. The firm had revenue of $11.27 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $11.02 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.98 EPS. The firm’s revenue was down 9.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts anticipate that NIKE, Inc. will post 2.05 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

NIKE Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 3rd were paid a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.99%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 3rd. NIKE’s payout ratio is 53.16%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Robert Holmes Swan purchased 8,600 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, April 4th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $58.46 per share, with a total value of $502,756.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 31,983 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,869,726.18. The trade was a 36.78 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Chairman Mark G. Parker sold 169,732 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on 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 completion of the transaction, the chairman now owns 896,632 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $65,301,708.56. This represents a 15.92 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On NIKE

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of NKE. Heck Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of NIKE in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Caitlin John LLC increased its holdings in NIKE by 117.0% in the 4th quarter. Caitlin John LLC now owns 371 shares of the footwear maker’s stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. Roxbury Financial LLC purchased a new position in NIKE during the fourth quarter valued at $30,000. LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA grew its position in shares of NIKE by 110.5% in the fourth quarter. LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA now owns 400 shares of the footwear maker’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 210 shares during the period. Finally, Hopwood Financial Services Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of NIKE during the fourth quarter worth about $30,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 64.25% of the company’s stock.

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.