NIKE (NYSE:NKE) Shares Up 0.8% – Time to Buy?

NIKE, Inc. (NYSE:NKE) traded up 0.8% during trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $82.94 and last traded at $82.74. 1,243,063 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 89% from the average session volume of 11,687,001 shares. The stock had previously closed at $82.12.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

NKE has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their price objective on shares of NIKE from $95.00 to $92.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Evercore ISI decreased their target price on shares of NIKE from $110.00 to $105.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. StockNews.com downgraded NIKE from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, June 21st. Piper Sandler reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $80.00 price objective on shares of NIKE in a research note on Friday, September 20th. Finally, Bank of America decreased their target price on NIKE from $104.00 to $100.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Fourteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, NIKE presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $96.56.

NIKE Stock Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 1.58, a current ratio of 2.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57. The company has a market capitalization of $125.16 billion, a PE ratio of 22.23, a PEG ratio of 1.96 and a beta of 1.02. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $82.46 and a 200 day simple moving average of $85.38.

NIKE (NYSE:NKE) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 1st. The footwear maker reported $0.70 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.52 by $0.18. The firm had revenue of $11.59 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $11.64 billion. NIKE had a net margin of 10.60% and a return on equity of 39.84%. NIKE’s revenue was down 10.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.94 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that NIKE, Inc. will post 2.8 EPS for the current fiscal year.

NIKE Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 1st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 3rd were given a dividend of $0.37 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, September 3rd. This represents a $1.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.78%. NIKE’s dividend payout ratio is currently 39.68%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other NIKE news, Chairman Mark G. Parker sold 52,487 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $78.00, for a total value of $4,093,986.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 1,031,226 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $80,435,628. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 0.50% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On NIKE

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of NKE. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC lifted its stake in NIKE by 7.8% in the 3rd quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 454,719 shares of the footwear maker’s stock valued at $40,197,000 after buying an additional 32,907 shares in the last quarter. Legacy Financial Strategies LLC acquired a new position in shares of NIKE during the 3rd quarter valued at about $210,000. Raymond James & Associates grew its stake in shares of NIKE by 7.5% in the 3rd quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 1,505,332 shares of the footwear maker’s stock valued at $133,071,000 after buying an additional 105,093 shares during the period. First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. increased its stake in NIKE by 151.6% during the third quarter. First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. now owns 60,053 shares of the footwear maker’s stock worth $5,309,000 after acquiring an additional 36,183 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. increased its position in shares of NIKE by 164.6% during the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 11,955 shares of the footwear maker’s stock worth $1,057,000 after purchasing an additional 7,437 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.