Investors Buy Large Volume of Call Options on NIKE (NYSE:NKE)

NIKE, Inc. (NYSE:NKE) was the recipient of some unusual options trading on Thursday. Stock traders acquired 148,154 call options on the company. This is an increase of 43% compared to the average daily volume of 103,393 call options.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

NKE has been the topic of several research reports. China Renaissance began coverage on NIKE in a report on Wednesday, March 19th. They set a “hold” rating on the stock. Barclays decreased their price target on NIKE from $79.00 to $70.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, December 20th. Cfra Research raised NIKE to a “moderate buy” rating in a report on Friday, March 21st. Piper Sandler raised shares of NIKE from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their target price for the company from $72.00 to $90.00 in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price target on shares of NIKE from $79.00 to $75.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Fifteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, NIKE presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $87.38.

Insider Activity at NIKE

In other news, Chairman Mark G. Parker sold 169,732 shares of the company’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 transaction, the chairman now directly owns 896,632 shares in the company, valued at approximately $65,301,708.56. This represents a 15.92 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in NKE. Heck Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of NIKE during the 4th quarter worth about $28,000. Caitlin John LLC raised its holdings 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 in the last quarter. Teachers Insurance & Annuity Association of America acquired a new position in NIKE during the third quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Roxbury Financial LLC bought a new position in NIKE in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Finally, LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA increased its position 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 worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 210 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 64.25% of the company’s stock.

NIKE Price Performance

NKE stock opened at $65.87 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $74.31 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $77.05. NIKE has a 1 year low of $64.95 and a 1 year high of $98.04. The stock has a market cap of $97.42 billion, a PE ratio of 20.33, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 1.02. The company has a current ratio of 2.22, a quick ratio of 1.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57.

NIKE (NYSE:NKE) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 20th. The footwear maker reported $0.54 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.28 by $0.26. The business had revenue of $11.27 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $11.02 billion. NIKE had a return on equity of 36.99% and a net margin of 9.98%. NIKE’s quarterly revenue was down 9.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.98 earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that NIKE will post 2.05 EPS for the current fiscal year.

NIKE Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 3rd will be given a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.43%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 3rd. NIKE’s dividend payout ratio is presently 53.16%.

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.