NIKE (NYSE:NKE) Coverage Initiated by Analysts at China Renaissance

China Renaissance initiated coverage on shares of NIKE (NYSE:NKE) in a research report sent to investors on Wednesday, Marketbeat.com reports. The brokerage issued a hold rating on the footwear maker’s stock.

Other equities analysts have also issued research reports about the company. Bank of America decreased their target price on NIKE from $95.00 to $90.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on shares of NIKE from $74.00 to $72.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, March 13th. Truist Financial dropped their price objective on shares of NIKE from $97.00 to $90.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, December 20th. Telsey Advisory Group reiterated a “market perform” rating and set a $80.00 target price on shares of NIKE in a report on Monday. Finally, Needham & Company LLC dropped their price target on shares of NIKE from $84.00 to $80.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday. Fifteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $89.54.

NIKE Price Performance

NIKE stock opened at $72.92 on Wednesday. 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 capitalization of $107.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 1.02. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $74.76 and its 200-day simple moving average is $77.60. NIKE has a 1 year low of $68.62 and a 1 year high of $101.92.

NIKE (NYSE:NKE) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, December 19th. The footwear maker reported $0.78 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.63 by $0.15. NIKE had a return on equity of 36.99% and a net margin of 9.98%. The company had revenue of $12.35 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $12.11 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.03 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 7.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts expect that NIKE will post 2.05 earnings per share for the current year.

NIKE Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 3rd will be issued a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.19%. NIKE’s payout ratio is 49.38%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other NIKE news, Chairman Mark G. Parker sold 169,732 shares of the 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 sale, the chairman now directly owns 896,632 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $65,301,708.56. This trade represents a 15.92 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director John W. Rogers, Jr. bought 2,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 27th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $76.65 per share, for a total transaction of $191,625.00. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 34,403 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,636,989.95. This trade represents a 7.84 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 1.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On NIKE

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of NKE. Heck Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of NIKE in the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. Caitlin John LLC boosted its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. Teachers Insurance & Annuity Association of America acquired a new position in NIKE during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $30,000. Roxbury Financial LLC acquired a new stake in shares of NIKE in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Finally, LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA lifted its holdings in shares of NIKE by 110.5% in the 4th 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 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.