NIKE (NYSE:NKE) Sets New 52-Week Low – Should You Sell?

NIKE, Inc. (NYSE:NKE) shares reached a new 52-week low during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as low as $70.62 and last traded at $70.66, with a volume of 4378061 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $72.08.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Guggenheim reduced their target price on NIKE from $115.00 to $110.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. Evercore ISI dropped their target price on NIKE from $105.00 to $97.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, December 16th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on NIKE from $80.00 to $74.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, December 20th. DA Davidson raised NIKE to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 23rd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price objective on NIKE from $82.00 to $80.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. Fourteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, NIKE has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $89.96.

NIKE Stock Performance

The business has a 50 day moving average of $76.19 and a 200 day moving average of $78.09. The company has a market capitalization of $104.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.89 and a beta of 1.02. The company has a quick ratio of 1.58, a current ratio of 2.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57.

NIKE (NYSE:NKE) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, December 19th. The footwear maker reported $0.78 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.63 by $0.15. The business had revenue of $12.35 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $12.11 billion. NIKE had a return on equity of 39.84% and a net margin of 10.60%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 7.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.03 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that NIKE, Inc. will post 2.72 earnings per share for the current year.

NIKE Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 2nd. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 2nd were paid a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.26%. This is a positive change from NIKE’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.37. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 2nd. NIKE’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 49.38%.

Insider Activity

In other NIKE news, Director John W. Rogers, Jr. purchased 2,500 shares of NIKE stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 27th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $76.65 per share, for a total transaction of $191,625.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 34,403 shares in the company, valued at $2,636,989.95. This represents a 7.84 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On NIKE

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Range Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of NIKE in the fourth quarter worth approximately $642,000. Cacti Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of NIKE in the fourth quarter worth approximately $9,987,000. ING Groep NV purchased a new stake in shares of NIKE in the third quarter worth approximately $29,628,000. Confluence Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in NIKE by 6.3% during the 4th quarter. Confluence Investment Management LLC now owns 246,080 shares of the footwear maker’s stock worth $18,621,000 after purchasing an additional 14,592 shares during the period. Finally, Everence Capital Management Inc. increased its holdings in NIKE by 128.1% during the 4th quarter. Everence Capital Management Inc. now owns 24,680 shares of the footwear maker’s stock worth $1,868,000 after purchasing an additional 13,860 shares during the period. 64.25% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other 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.