NIKE, Inc. (NYSE:NKE) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

Shares of NIKE, Inc. (NYSE:NKE) have earned an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the thirty-one ratings firms that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, nine have given a hold recommendation and twenty have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month price objective among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $116.26.

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. UBS Group dropped their price objective on shares of NIKE from $138.00 to $125.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, March 22nd. HSBC cut their price target on shares of NIKE from $120.00 to $115.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 22nd. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price objective on NIKE from $110.00 to $100.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, March 22nd. Barclays cut their target price on NIKE from $142.00 to $114.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, March 25th. Finally, Robert W. Baird lowered their price target on NIKE from $140.00 to $125.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, March 22nd.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On NIKE

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of NKE. Capital International Investors grew its stake in shares of NIKE by 34.9% during the fourth quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 27,609,613 shares of the footwear maker’s stock worth $2,997,628,000 after purchasing an additional 7,143,775 shares during the period. FMR LLC grew its position in shares of NIKE by 0.7% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 18,502,409 shares of the footwear maker’s stock worth $1,769,200,000 after buying an additional 125,746 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its stake in shares of NIKE by 87.5% in the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 17,135,431 shares of the footwear maker’s stock valued at $1,860,395,000 after acquiring an additional 7,996,434 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp raised its position in shares of NIKE by 4.5% in the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 15,557,676 shares of the footwear maker’s stock valued at $1,487,625,000 after acquiring an additional 674,198 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new position in NIKE during the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,315,097,000. 64.25% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

NIKE Trading Down 0.3 %

Shares of NKE opened at $92.15 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $96.00 and its 200 day moving average price is $103.11. The company has a quick ratio of 1.89, a current ratio of 2.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63. The firm has a market capitalization of $139.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.10, a P/E/G ratio of 1.74 and a beta of 1.07. NIKE has a 12-month low of $88.66 and a 12-month high of $127.69.

NIKE (NYSE:NKE) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 21st. The footwear maker reported $0.98 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.69 by $0.29. The business had revenue of $12.43 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $12.28 billion. NIKE had a return on equity of 39.41% and a net margin of 10.14%. As a group, research analysts predict that NIKE will post 3.73 earnings per share for the current year.

NIKE Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 1st. Investors of record on Monday, June 3rd will be paid a dividend of $0.37 per share. This represents a $1.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.61%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 3rd. NIKE’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 43.53%.

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.