NIKE (NYSE:NKE) Stock Price Up 1.3% - Still a Buy?

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on NKE shares. BMO Capital Markets lowered their target price on NIKE from $95.00 to $92.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, March 21st. Guggenheim reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $110.00 target price on shares of NIKE in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. China Renaissance initiated coverage on shares of NIKE in a research report on Wednesday, March 19th. They issued a "hold" rating on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada cut their price objective on NIKE from $67.00 to $66.00 and set a "sector perform" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, March 21st. Finally, Williams Trading decreased their target price on NIKE from $93.00 to $73.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 21st. Sixteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $82.81.

NIKE Trading Down 1.4 %

The company has a market capitalization of $85.29 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.80, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 1.15. 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 company has a fifty day simple moving average of $66.75 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $72.95.

NIKE (NYSE:NKE - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 20th. The footwear maker reported $0.54 earnings per share (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 company had revenue of $11.27 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $11.02 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.98 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was down 9.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts forecast that NIKE, Inc. will post 2.05 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

NIKE Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Investors of record on Monday, March 3rd were paid a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.77%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 3rd. NIKE's dividend payout ratio is 53.16%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Robert Holmes Swan bought 8,600 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, April 4th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $58.46 per share, for a total transaction of $502,756.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 31,983 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,869,726.18. This trade represents a 36.78 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Chairman Mark G. Parker sold 169,732 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, the chairman now owns 896,632 shares in the company, valued at approximately $65,301,708.56. This trade represents a 15.92 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 1.10% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On NIKE

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of NKE. Heck Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of NIKE in the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. Caitlin John LLC increased its position in NIKE by 117.0% in the 4th quarter. Caitlin John LLC now owns 371 shares of the footwear maker's stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. Roxbury Financial LLC bought a new position in shares of NIKE in the fourth quarter worth about $30,000. LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA lifted its position 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 worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 210 shares in 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. 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.