NIKE (NYSE:NKE) Upgraded by Jefferies Financial Group to Buy Rating

Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of NIKE (NYSE:NKE) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research report report published on Monday, Marketbeat reports. The brokerage currently has $115.00 price target on the footwear maker’s stock, up from their prior price target of $75.00.

A number of other brokerages have also recently commented on NKE. Robert W. Baird dropped their price objective on shares of NIKE from $110.00 to $105.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, December 23rd. UBS Group reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $73.00 price objective on shares of NIKE in a report on Thursday, December 26th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their target price on shares of NIKE from $92.00 to $82.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, December 16th. Evercore ISI dropped their price target on NIKE from $105.00 to $97.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, December 16th. Finally, Guggenheim restated a “buy” rating and set a $110.00 price objective on shares of NIKE in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Fourteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $89.77.

NIKE Trading Up 5.0 %

NYSE:NKE opened at $80.32 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $118.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.79, a PEG ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 1.01. The company has a current ratio of 2.22, a quick ratio of 1.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $74.37 and a 200-day simple moving average of $78.21. NIKE has a 12 month low of $68.62 and a 12 month high of $106.10.

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

NIKE Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Investors of record on Monday, March 3rd will be given a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.99%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 3rd. NIKE’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 49.38%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Chairman Mark G. Parker sold 169,732 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 sale, the chairman now owns 896,632 shares in the company, valued at $65,301,708.56. This trade represents a 15.92 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director John W. Rogers, Jr. purchased 2,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, December 27th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $76.65 per share, for a total transaction of $191,625.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 34,403 shares in the company, valued at $2,636,989.95. The trade was a 7.84 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On NIKE

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. JNBA Financial Advisors raised its holdings in shares of NIKE by 1.3% in the 4th quarter. JNBA Financial Advisors now owns 10,045 shares of the footwear maker’s stock worth $760,000 after purchasing an additional 131 shares during the period. Frisch Financial Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of NIKE by 4.7% during the third quarter. Frisch Financial Group Inc. now owns 3,036 shares of the footwear maker’s stock worth $269,000 after purchasing an additional 136 shares in the last quarter. Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV increased its stake in NIKE by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV now owns 20,446 shares of the footwear maker’s stock worth $1,547,000 after buying an additional 136 shares during the period. Elgethun Capital Management increased its position in shares of NIKE by 13.7% during the fourth quarter. Elgethun Capital Management now owns 1,236 shares of the footwear maker’s stock worth $94,000 after acquiring an additional 149 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cove Private Wealth LLC raised its position in shares of NIKE by 0.9% in the 3rd quarter. Cove Private Wealth LLC now owns 17,605 shares of the footwear maker’s stock valued at $1,556,000 after purchasing an additional 150 shares in the last quarter. 64.25% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.