NIKE (NYSE:NKE) Coverage Initiated at China Renaissance

Analysts at China Renaissance assumed coverage on shares of NIKE (NYSE:NKE) in a research report issued to clients and investors on Wednesday, MarketBeat.com reports. The firm set a “hold” rating on the footwear maker’s stock.

Several other equities analysts have also commented on NKE. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on NIKE from $95.00 to $92.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, December 16th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of NIKE from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $75.00 to $115.00 in a research note on Monday, February 24th. Telsey Advisory Group restated a “market perform” rating and issued a $80.00 price objective on shares of NIKE in a research note on Monday. Dbs Bank upgraded shares of NIKE from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, Guggenheim restated a “buy” rating and issued a $110.00 price objective on shares of NIKE in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Fifteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $89.54.

NIKE Stock Performance

NYSE:NKE opened at $71.61 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $105.92 billion, a PE ratio of 22.10, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 1.02. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $74.77 and its 200 day moving average price is $77.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57, a current ratio of 2.22 and a quick ratio of 1.51. NIKE has a 12 month low of $68.62 and a 12 month high of $101.92.

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

Insider Buying and Selling at NIKE

In other news, Chairman Mark G. Parker sold 169,732 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 directly owns 896,632 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $65,301,708.56. This trade represents a 15.92 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director John W. Rogers, Jr. acquired 2,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 27th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $76.65 per share, with a total value of $191,625.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 34,403 shares in the company, valued at approximately $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. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Heck Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in NIKE during the fourth quarter worth approximately $28,000. Caitlin John LLC boosted its position in NIKE by 117.0% during the fourth quarter. Caitlin John LLC now owns 371 shares of the footwear maker’s stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. Teachers Insurance & Annuity Association of America acquired a new stake in NIKE during the third quarter worth approximately $30,000. Roxbury Financial LLC acquired a new stake in NIKE during the fourth quarter worth approximately $30,000. Finally, LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA boosted its position in NIKE by 110.5% during the fourth quarter. LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA now owns 400 shares of the footwear maker’s stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 210 shares during the last quarter. 64.25% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

NIKE Company Profile

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.