NIKE (NYSE:NKE) Trading 2% Higher – Here’s Why

NIKE, Inc. (NYSE:NKE)’s stock price traded up 2% during mid-day trading on Friday . The stock traded as high as $63.75 and last traded at $63.65. 4,669,939 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 68% from the average session volume of 14,782,683 shares. The stock had previously closed at $62.40.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Berenberg Bank assumed coverage on shares of NIKE in a research report on Tuesday, April 15th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $58.00 target price for the company. Williams Trading cut their target price on shares of NIKE from $93.00 to $73.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 21st. Telsey Advisory Group cut their price target on shares of NIKE from $80.00 to $70.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. Truist Financial cut their price target on shares of NIKE from $90.00 to $82.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, March 21st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of NIKE from $55.00 to $60.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Seventeen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $80.30.

NIKE Trading Up 1.2%

The company has a market capitalization of $93.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.48, a P/E/G ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 1.23. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $61.07 and its 200-day moving average is $70.70. 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 (NYSE:NKE) last released its quarterly earnings results 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. NIKE had a net margin of 9.98% and a return on equity of 36.99%. The company had revenue of $11.27 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $11.02 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.98 earnings per share. NIKE’s revenue was down 9.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that NIKE, Inc. will post 2.05 earnings per share for the current year.

NIKE Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 2nd will be paid a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.53%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 2nd. NIKE’s dividend payout ratio is 53.16%.

Insider Buying and Selling at NIKE

In other NIKE news, Director Robert Holmes Swan bought 8,600 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, April 4th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $58.46 per share, with a total value of $502,756.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 31,983 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,869,726.18. This trade represents a 36.78% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On NIKE

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in NKE. Woodline Partners LP increased its position in shares of NIKE by 48.3% during the first quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 99,797 shares of the footwear maker’s stock valued at $6,335,000 after acquiring an additional 32,489 shares in the last quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC increased its position in shares of NIKE by 10.7% during the first quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC now owns 8,677 shares of the footwear maker’s stock valued at $551,000 after acquiring an additional 840 shares in the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC increased its position in shares of NIKE by 17.9% during the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 190,219 shares of the footwear maker’s stock valued at $12,075,000 after acquiring an additional 28,874 shares in the last quarter. Northeast Financial Consultants Inc increased its position in shares of NIKE by 43.1% during the first quarter. Northeast Financial Consultants Inc now owns 19,906 shares of the footwear maker’s stock valued at $1,264,000 after acquiring an additional 6,000 shares in the last quarter. Finally, MBB Public Markets I LLC bought a new stake in shares of NIKE during the first quarter valued at approximately $276,000. 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.