NIKE Sees Unusually High Options Volume (NYSE:NKE)

NIKE, Inc. (NYSE:NKE - Get Free Report) was the target of some unusual options trading activity on Thursday. Stock investors acquired 148,154 call options on the stock. This is an increase of approximately 43% compared to the average volume of 103,393 call options.

NIKE Stock Down 3.8 %

Shares of NYSE NKE traded down $2.48 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $63.32. 19,564,094 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 12,930,854. The company has a market cap of $93.65 billion, a PE ratio of 19.54, a PEG ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 1.02. NIKE has a 12 month low of $63.14 and a 12 month high of $98.04. The company has a quick ratio of 1.51, a current ratio of 2.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $74.16 and a 200-day moving average price of $76.93.

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

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NIKE Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 3rd will be paid a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.53%. NIKE's payout ratio is 53.16%.

Insider Buying and Selling at NIKE

In related news, Chairman Mark G. Parker sold 169,732 shares of NIKE stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $72.83, for a total transaction of $12,361,581.56. Following the sale, the chairman now owns 896,632 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $65,301,708.56. This trade represents a 15.92 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 1.10% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On NIKE

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of NKE. JNBA Financial Advisors raised its holdings in shares of NIKE by 1.3% in the fourth quarter. JNBA Financial Advisors now owns 10,045 shares of the footwear maker's stock worth $760,000 after buying an additional 131 shares during the last quarter. Frisch Financial Group Inc. increased its position in shares of NIKE by 4.7% in the 3rd quarter. Frisch Financial Group Inc. now owns 3,036 shares of the footwear maker's stock valued at $269,000 after acquiring an additional 136 shares during the period. Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV raised its stake in NIKE by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV now owns 20,446 shares of the footwear maker's stock worth $1,547,000 after acquiring an additional 136 shares during the last quarter. Elgethun Capital Management lifted its position in NIKE by 13.7% during the 4th quarter. Elgethun Capital Management now owns 1,236 shares of the footwear maker's stock worth $94,000 after acquiring an additional 149 shares during the period. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake in NIKE by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 15,014 shares of the footwear maker's stock valued at $1,136,000 after purchasing an additional 150 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 64.25% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on NKE. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on shares of NIKE from $73.00 to $64.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, March 21st. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price objective on shares of NIKE from $79.00 to $75.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a report on Friday, December 20th. Robert W. Baird cut their price objective on NIKE from $105.00 to $99.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, March 21st. BMO Capital Markets decreased their target price on NIKE from $95.00 to $92.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, March 21st. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut their price target on NIKE from $72.00 to $70.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Friday, March 21st. Fifteen investment 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's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $87.38.

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.