NIKE (NYSE:NKE) Upgraded by DA Davidson to “Strong-Buy” Rating

DA Davidson upgraded shares of NIKE (NYSE:NKE) to a strong-buy rating in a research report released on Monday morning,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other equities research analysts have also issued reports on NKE. Sanford C. Bernstein dropped their target price on shares of NIKE from $112.00 to $109.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, September 19th. Telsey Advisory Group cut shares of NIKE from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and dropped their price objective for the company from $93.00 to $80.00 in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on shares of NIKE from $80.00 to $74.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Needham & Company LLC restated a “buy” rating and issued a $84.00 price target on shares of NIKE in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Finally, UBS Group cut their price target on NIKE from $80.00 to $73.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, December 20th. Fifteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $89.58.

NIKE Stock Up 0.0 %

NKE stock opened at $76.79 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $115.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.00, a P/E/G ratio of 1.89 and a beta of 1.02. NIKE has a 52 week low of $70.75 and a 52 week high of $109.96. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $77.87 and a 200-day simple moving average of $80.18. The company has a quick ratio of 1.58, a current ratio of 2.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57.

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

NIKE Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 2nd. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 2nd will be given a $0.40 dividend. This is an increase from NIKE’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.37. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.08%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 2nd. NIKE’s payout ratio is currently 49.38%.

Institutional Trading of NIKE

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Garrison Point Advisors LLC increased its stake in NIKE by 1.9% during the 3rd quarter. Garrison Point Advisors LLC now owns 6,704 shares of the footwear maker’s stock worth $593,000 after buying an additional 126 shares during the period. Stephens Consulting LLC grew its stake in shares of NIKE by 20.0% in the third quarter. Stephens Consulting LLC now owns 768 shares of the footwear maker’s stock worth $68,000 after acquiring an additional 128 shares in the last quarter. PSI Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of NIKE by 26.3% during the third quarter. PSI Advisors LLC now owns 624 shares of the footwear maker’s stock worth $55,000 after acquiring an additional 130 shares during the period. Chapin Davis Inc. raised its stake in shares of NIKE by 1.2% in the third quarter. Chapin Davis Inc. now owns 11,430 shares of the footwear maker’s stock valued at $1,010,000 after acquiring an additional 133 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Meridian Financial Partners LLC boosted its holdings in NIKE by 1.6% in the third quarter. Meridian Financial Partners LLC now owns 8,396 shares of the footwear maker’s stock valued at $742,000 after purchasing an additional 133 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.