NIKE (NYSE:NKE) Price Target Cut to $72.00 by Analysts at Morgan Stanley

NIKE (NYSE:NKE) had its price target reduced by Morgan Stanley from $74.00 to $72.00 in a report released on Thursday,Benzinga reports. They currently have an equal weight rating on the footwear maker’s stock.

Several other research firms also recently weighed in on NKE. Citigroup downgraded NIKE from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their target price for the company from $102.00 to $72.00 in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of NIKE from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $75.00 to $115.00 in a report on Monday, February 24th. Piper Sandler raised shares of NIKE from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $72.00 to $90.00 in a report on Friday, January 10th. Bank of America decreased their price objective on shares of NIKE from $95.00 to $90.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on NIKE from $77.00 to $73.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, December 2nd. Fourteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $89.69.

NIKE Trading Down 1.3 %

Shares of NYSE:NKE opened at $71.72 on Thursday. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $74.68 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $77.81. The stock has a market capitalization of $106.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.14, a PEG ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 1.02. NIKE has a 52-week low of $68.62 and a 52-week high of $101.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57, a quick ratio of 1.51 and a current ratio of 2.22.

NIKE (NYSE:NKE) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, December 19th. The footwear maker reported $0.78 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.63 by $0.15. NIKE had a net margin of 9.98% and a return on equity of 36.99%. The company had revenue of $12.35 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $12.11 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.03 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 7.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts expect that NIKE will post 2.05 EPS for the current year.

NIKE Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 3rd will be given a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.23%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 3rd. NIKE’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 49.38%.

Insider Transactions at NIKE

In related 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 sale, 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 transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director John W. Rogers, Jr. bought 2,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, December 27th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $76.65 per share, for a total transaction of $191,625.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 34,403 shares in the company, valued at $2,636,989.95. This represents a 7.84 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Corporate insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of NIKE

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Heck Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in NIKE in the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. Caitlin John LLC boosted its stake in NIKE by 117.0% in the fourth quarter. Caitlin John LLC now owns 371 shares of the footwear maker’s stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. Teachers Insurance & Annuity Association of America purchased a new position in NIKE in the third quarter worth $30,000. Roxbury Financial LLC acquired a new position in shares of NIKE during the fourth quarter worth $30,000. Finally, LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA lifted its holdings in shares of NIKE by 110.5% during the 4th 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 last quarter. 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.