NIKE (NYSE:NKE) Rating Increased to Strong-Buy at Argus

NIKE (NYSE:NKE) was upgraded by equities researchers at Argus to a “strong-buy” rating in a report issued on Wednesday,Zacks.com reports.

Other equities research analysts have also issued reports about the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on NIKE from $52.00 to $47.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, June 29th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their price target on NIKE from $51.00 to $43.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, June 26th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price objective on NIKE from $46.00 to $42.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 1st. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their target price on shares of NIKE from $90.00 to $75.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 1st. Finally, BTIG Research reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $55.00 target price on shares of NIKE in a research report on Wednesday, July 1st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Buy rating, nineteen have given a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $54.80.

NIKE Trading Up 4.0%

Shares of NKE stock opened at $44.49 on Wednesday. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $43.68 and a 200-day moving average of $51.91. The stock has a market cap of $65.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.29, a P/E/G ratio of 2.47 and a beta of 1.12. NIKE has a 52-week low of $40.00 and a 52-week high of $80.17. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40, a quick ratio of 1.36 and a current ratio of 1.96.

NIKE (NYSE:NKE) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, June 30th. The footwear maker reported $0.20 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.11 by $0.09. The business had revenue of $10.97 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.85 billion. NIKE had a net margin of 6.70% and a return on equity of 16.54%. The firm’s revenue was down 1.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.14 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that NIKE will post 1.76 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at NIKE

In related news, EVP Philip Mccartney sold 17,398 shares of NIKE stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $46.18, for a total value of $803,439.64. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 53,133 shares in the company, valued at $2,453,681.94. This trade represents a 24.67% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. 0.80% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Ballast Inc. raised its stake in shares of NIKE by 78.2% during the second quarter. Ballast Inc. now owns 45,737 shares of the footwear maker’s stock worth $1,878,000 after buying an additional 20,076 shares during the last quarter. Tema ETFs LLC grew its holdings in NIKE by 10.8% during the 2nd quarter. Tema ETFs LLC now owns 23,851 shares of the footwear maker’s stock worth $979,000 after acquiring an additional 2,320 shares during the period. Handelsbanken Fonder AB raised its position in shares of NIKE by 23.1% during the 2nd quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 595,016 shares of the footwear maker’s stock valued at $24,425,000 after acquiring an additional 111,625 shares during the last quarter. Scott Capital Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of NIKE by 17.6% in the 2nd quarter. Scott Capital Advisors LLC now owns 7,354 shares of the footwear maker’s stock valued at $302,000 after purchasing an additional 1,100 shares during the period. Finally, KMG Fiduciary Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of NIKE by 458.9% in the 2nd quarter. KMG Fiduciary Partners LLC now owns 28,441 shares of the footwear maker’s stock valued at $1,168,000 after purchasing an additional 23,352 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 64.25% of the company’s stock.

NIKE Company Profile

Nike, Inc (NYSE: NKE) is a global designer, marketer and distributor of athletic footwear, apparel, equipment and accessories. Founded in 1964 as Blue Ribbon Sports by Phil Knight and Bill Bowerman and renamed Nike in 1971, the company is headquartered near Beaverton, Oregon. Nike develops and commercializes products across performance and lifestyle categories for sports including running, basketball, soccer and training, and is known for signature technologies and design-driven product lines.

The company markets products under several primary brands, including Nike, Jordan and Converse, and sells through a combination of wholesale relationships, branded retail stores and direct-to-consumer channels such as company-operated stores and digital platforms (e.g., Nike.com and mobile apps).