NIKE (NYSE:NKE) Earns Hold Rating from Analysts at Berenberg Bank

Investment analysts at Berenberg Bank began coverage on shares of NIKE (NYSE:NKE - Get Free Report) in a research note issued on Tuesday, Marketbeat reports. The firm set a "hold" rating and a $58.00 price target on the footwear maker's stock. Berenberg Bank's price target would suggest a potential upside of 4.07% from the stock's current price.

Other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports about the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on NIKE from $73.00 to $64.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, March 21st. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on shares of NIKE from $90.00 to $85.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, March 21st. Guggenheim restated a "buy" rating and issued a $110.00 price target on shares of NIKE in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Citigroup downgraded NIKE from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and dropped their target price for the company from $102.00 to $72.00 in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Finally, UBS Group cut their price objective on shares of NIKE from $73.00 to $66.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, March 21st. Sixteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, NIKE presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $85.15.

NIKE Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:NKE traded up $2.18 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $55.73. 18,891,139 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 14,180,177. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $68.71 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $74.09. NIKE has a 52 week low of $52.28 and a 52 week high of $98.04. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57, a quick ratio of 1.51 and a current ratio of 2.22. The company has a market cap of $82.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.20, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 1.15.

NIKE (NYSE:NKE - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, March 20th. The footwear maker reported $0.54 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.28 by $0.26. NIKE had a return on equity of 36.99% and a net margin of 9.98%. The company had revenue of $11.27 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $11.02 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.98 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was down 9.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that NIKE will post 2.05 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling 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 stock was 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 represents a 15.92 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Robert Holmes Swan acquired 8,600 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, April 4th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $58.46 per share, for a total transaction of $502,756.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 31,983 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,869,726.18. This represents a 36.78 % 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 and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Heck Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in NIKE during the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. Caitlin John LLC boosted its holdings in shares of NIKE by 117.0% during the 4th quarter. Caitlin John LLC now owns 371 shares of the footwear maker's stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. Roxbury Financial LLC purchased a new stake in shares of NIKE in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $30,000. LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA lifted 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 buying an additional 210 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Hopwood Financial Services Inc. acquired a new position in NIKE during the fourth quarter worth $30,000. 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.