NIKE’s (NKE) Neutral Rating Reaffirmed at UBS Group

UBS Group restated their neutral rating on shares of NIKE (NYSE:NKE) in a report published on Thursday,Benzinga reports. UBS Group currently has a $73.00 price target on the footwear maker’s stock.

A number of other equities analysts also recently issued reports on the company. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $84.00 price objective on shares of NIKE in a report on Friday, December 20th. Barclays decreased their price target on shares of NIKE from $79.00 to $70.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Guggenheim dropped their price objective on shares of NIKE from $115.00 to $110.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. Sanford C. Bernstein decreased their target price on shares of NIKE from $112.00 to $109.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, September 19th. Finally, Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on NIKE from $80.00 to $74.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Fifteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, NIKE has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $89.58.

NIKE Stock Up 0.2 %

Shares of NYSE NKE opened at $76.94 on Thursday. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $77.60 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $80.14. The firm has a market capitalization of $115.36 billion, a PE ratio of 22.05, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.89 and a beta of 1.02. The company has a current ratio of 2.36, a quick ratio of 1.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57. NIKE has a 12 month low of $70.75 and a 12 month high of $109.96.

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

NIKE Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 2nd. Investors of record on Monday, December 2nd will be issued a $0.40 dividend. This is an increase from NIKE’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.37. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 2nd. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.08%. NIKE’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 49.38%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On NIKE

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of NKE. State Street Corp lifted its position in NIKE by 3.3% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 57,916,789 shares of the footwear maker’s stock worth $5,140,796,000 after buying an additional 1,862,021 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its stake in shares of NIKE by 5.1% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 27,442,145 shares of the footwear maker’s stock worth $2,425,886,000 after purchasing an additional 1,343,093 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in NIKE by 1.0% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 25,029,380 shares of the footwear maker’s stock valued at $2,204,451,000 after purchasing an additional 251,411 shares during the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc raised its position in NIKE by 5.5% in the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 11,049,294 shares of the footwear maker’s stock worth $832,785,000 after purchasing an additional 571,544 shares during the period. Finally, Fisher Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in NIKE by 6.0% in the third quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 10,303,182 shares of the footwear maker’s stock worth $910,801,000 after purchasing an additional 583,207 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 64.25% of the company’s stock.

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.