NIKE (NYSE:NKE) Shares Up 1.3% - Here's Why

NIKE, Inc. (NYSE:NKE - Get Free Report) shares rose 1.3% during trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $59.20 and last traded at $57.82. Approximately 8,311,467 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 42% from the average daily volume of 14,232,760 shares. The stock had previously closed at $57.06.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

NKE has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Needham & Company LLC lowered their price objective on NIKE from $84.00 to $80.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 17th. Berenberg Bank assumed coverage on NIKE in a research report on Tuesday, April 15th. They set a "hold" rating and a $58.00 price target for the company. Telsey Advisory Group restated a "market perform" rating and issued a $80.00 price objective on shares of NIKE in a research report on Monday, March 17th. BMO Capital Markets dropped their target price on shares of NIKE from $95.00 to $92.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, March 21st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on shares of NIKE from $73.00 to $64.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a 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 issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $82.81.

NIKE Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57, a current ratio of 2.22 and a quick ratio of 1.51. The business has a 50 day moving average of $67.15 and a 200 day moving average of $73.17. The company has a market cap of $84.47 billion, a PE ratio of 17.62, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 1.15.

NIKE (NYSE:NKE - Get Free Report) last announced 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 net margin of 9.98% and a return on equity of 36.99%. The firm had revenue of $11.27 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $11.02 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.98 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was down 9.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts predict that NIKE, Inc. will post 2.05 EPS for the current year.

NIKE Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 3rd were paid a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.80%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 3rd. NIKE's payout ratio is presently 53.16%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other NIKE news, Director Robert Holmes Swan acquired 8,600 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, April 4th. The shares were acquired at an average price 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 in the company, valued at $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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Chairman Mark G. Parker sold 169,732 shares of NIKE 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 owns 896,632 shares of the company's stock, valued at $65,301,708.56. The trade was a 15.92 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On NIKE

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Heck Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in NIKE in the 4th quarter worth about $28,000. Caitlin John LLC raised its holdings in NIKE by 117.0% in the fourth quarter. Caitlin John LLC now owns 371 shares of the footwear maker's stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. Roxbury Financial LLC bought a new position in shares of NIKE in the fourth quarter worth approximately $30,000. LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA grew its holdings in shares of NIKE by 110.5% during the fourth quarter. LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA now owns 400 shares of the footwear maker's stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 210 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Hopwood Financial Services Inc. bought a new stake in shares of NIKE during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $30,000. 64.25% of the stock is owned by 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.