NIKE (NYSE:NKE) Earns Buy Rating from Analysts at Needham & Company LLC

Needham & Company LLC initiated coverage on shares of NIKE (NYSE:NKE) in a report published on Friday, Marketbeat Ratings reports. The brokerage issued a buy rating and a $84.00 target price on the footwear maker’s stock.

A number of other research firms also recently commented on NKE. Robert W. Baird increased their price objective on shares of NIKE from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, September 20th. TD Cowen reduced their price target on shares of NIKE from $78.00 to $73.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, November 18th. UBS Group lifted their price target on NIKE from $78.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. Truist Financial upgraded NIKE from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $83.00 to $97.00 in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on NIKE from $79.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th. Fourteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, NIKE presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $95.86.

NIKE Stock Up 3.1 %

Shares of NIKE stock opened at $77.40 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57, a current ratio of 2.36 and a quick ratio of 1.58. NIKE has a 1-year low of $70.75 and a 1-year high of $123.39. The business has a 50-day moving average of $80.51 and a 200-day moving average of $82.52. The company has a market capitalization of $116.05 billion, a PE ratio of 22.18, a P/E/G ratio of 1.82 and a beta of 1.03.

NIKE (NYSE:NKE) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 1st. The footwear maker reported $0.70 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 return on equity of 39.84% and a net margin of 10.60%. NIKE’s quarterly revenue was down 10.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.94 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that NIKE will post 2.75 EPS for the current fiscal year.

NIKE Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 2nd. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 2nd will be issued a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.07%. This is a positive change from NIKE’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.37. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 2nd. NIKE’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 42.41%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On NIKE

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Teachers Insurance & Annuity Association of America acquired a new stake in NIKE in the third quarter worth approximately $30,000. Transcendent Capital Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of NIKE by 97.6% in the first quarter. Transcendent Capital Group LLC now owns 405 shares of the footwear maker’s stock valued at $38,000 after buying an additional 200 shares during the period. VitalStone Financial LLC lifted its holdings in shares of NIKE by 52.6% in the third quarter. VitalStone Financial LLC now owns 435 shares of the footwear maker’s stock valued at $38,000 after buying an additional 150 shares during the period. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC grew its holdings in NIKE by 272.5% during the second quarter. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC now owns 514 shares of the footwear maker’s stock worth $39,000 after acquiring an additional 376 shares during the period. Finally, Triad Wealth Partners LLC bought a new stake in NIKE in the second quarter worth about $44,000. 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.