NIKE (NYSE:NKE) Trading Up 1.3% After Dividend Announcement

NIKE, Inc. (NYSE:NKE)’s stock price traded up 1.3% during mid-day trading on Thursday after the company announced a dividend. The company traded as high as $92.26 and last traded at $91.48. 1,767,751 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 81% from the average session volume of 9,253,923 shares. The stock had previously closed at $90.34.

The newly announced dividend which will be paid on Monday, July 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 3rd will be given a dividend of $0.37 per share. This represents a $1.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.61%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 3rd. NIKE’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 43.53%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

NKE has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Citigroup reduced their price target on NIKE from $135.00 to $125.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, March 14th. Evercore ISI decreased their target price on NIKE from $127.00 to $117.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, March 22nd. Wedbush reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $115.00 price target on shares of NIKE in a report on Tuesday. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price objective on shares of NIKE from $135.00 to $120.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, March 22nd. Finally, Williams Trading reissued a “sell” rating and set a $85.00 target price (down previously from $92.00) on shares of NIKE in a research note on Monday, March 18th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and twenty have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, NIKE presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $116.26.

NIKE Price Performance

The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $96.00 and a 200 day simple moving average of $103.11. The company has a market cap of $139.09 billion, a PE ratio of 27.10, a P/E/G ratio of 1.78 and a beta of 1.07. The company has a quick ratio of 1.89, a current ratio of 2.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63.

NIKE (NYSE:NKE) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, March 21st. The footwear maker reported $0.98 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.69 by $0.29. NIKE had a net margin of 10.14% and a return on equity of 39.41%. The company had revenue of $12.43 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $12.28 billion. Equities analysts expect that NIKE, Inc. will post 3.73 EPS for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On NIKE

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in NKE. Iron Horse Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in shares of NIKE by 120.7% in the fourth quarter. Iron Horse Wealth Management LLC now owns 256 shares of the footwear maker’s stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 140 shares in the last quarter. Annapolis Financial Services LLC grew its position in NIKE by 440.0% in the 1st quarter. Annapolis Financial Services LLC now owns 270 shares of the footwear maker’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 220 shares in the last quarter. Planned Solutions Inc. purchased a new stake in NIKE during the fourth quarter worth about $29,000. True Wealth Design LLC lifted its position in shares of NIKE by 106.4% during the fourth quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 291 shares of the footwear maker’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 150 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Core Wealth Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in shares of NIKE by 408.5% in the fourth quarter. Core Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 300 shares of the footwear maker’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 241 shares during the period. 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.