NIKE, Inc. $NKE Stock: Arlington Financial Advisors LLC Cuts Holdings

Arlington Financial Advisors LLC reduced its stake in NIKE, Inc. (NYSE:NKE - Free Report) by 84.3% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 9,883 shares of the footwear maker's stock after selling 52,916 shares during the quarter. Arlington Financial Advisors LLC's holdings in NIKE were worth $350,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Sankala Group LLC purchased a new stake in NIKE in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Scarborough Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of NIKE during the 1st quarter worth approximately $25,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. boosted its stake in NIKE by 108.4% during the first quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 548 shares of the footwear maker's stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 285 shares during the last quarter. Atlas Wealth LLC acquired a new position in NIKE during the first quarter worth $31,000. Finally, SHP Wealth Management acquired a new position in NIKE during the fourth quarter worth $41,000. 64.25% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently weighed in on NKE. DZ Bank cut shares of NIKE from a "strong-buy" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a research note on Friday, October 2nd. HSBC decreased their price target on NIKE from $48.00 to $40.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, September 28th. Weiss Ratings cut NIKE from a "sell (d+)" rating to a "sell (d)" rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 6th. Oppenheimer set a $52.00 price objective on NIKE and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, September 23rd. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered NIKE from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Saturday, October 3rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have issued a Buy rating, twenty-one have assigned a Hold rating and ten have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, NIKE presently has a consensus rating of "Reduce" and an average target price of $41.07.

NIKE News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting NIKE this week:

• Positive Sentiment: An analyst argues that Nike’s recent product-development weakness is recoverable and that the shares are undervalued after a steep decline from their peak. This provides a potential re-rating catalyst if new products and sales trends improve. Analyst says Nike will recover and shares are undervalued
• Positive Sentiment: Nike’s roughly 4.4% dividend yield and share price well below its historical peak may attract income-oriented and value investors, particularly if the company can stabilize earnings and maintain the payout. Coca-Cola and Nike high-yield dividend comparison
• Neutral Sentiment: Nike was included in recent luxury-goods and apparel-stock watchlists, increasing visibility but offering no new company-specific catalyst or change to its fundamentals. Top Luxury Goods Stocks To Watch Best Apparel Stocks Worth Watching
• Negative Sentiment: Zacks issued a negative forecast for Nike’s earnings, reinforcing concerns about slower demand, product execution and near-term profit growth. This contrasts with the longer-term recovery thesis and may limit upside until earnings estimates improve. Zacks Research Issues Negative Forecast for NIKE Earnings
• Negative Sentiment: A separate dividend comparison favored Coca-Cola over Nike, suggesting investors may view Nike’s higher yield as compensation for greater business and earnings risk rather than as a clear buy signal. Why only one high-yield dividend stock is a buy

NIKE Trading Up 0.3%

NYSE NKE opened at $37.22 on Tuesday. NIKE, Inc. has a 52 week low of $31.97 and a 52 week high of $70.44. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $37.38 and a two-hundred day moving average of $41.45. The company has a quick ratio of 1.39, a current ratio of 2.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39. The stock has a market capitalization of $55.29 billion, a PE ratio of 23.80, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.19 and a beta of 1.09.

NIKE (NYSE:NKE - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 1st. The footwear maker reported $0.48 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.43 by $0.05. NIKE had a net margin of 6.74% and a return on equity of 15.94%. The business had revenue of $11.21 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $11.32 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.49 EPS. The company's revenue was down 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. NIKE has set its FY 2027 guidance at 1.150-1.350 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that NIKE, Inc. will post 1.26 EPS for the current fiscal year.

NIKE Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 1st. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 1st were paid a dividend of $0.41 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, September 1st. This represents a $1.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.4%. NIKE's payout ratio is presently 78.85%.

Insider Activity at NIKE

In other NIKE news, EVP Philip McCartney sold 2,559 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $37.59, for a total value of $96,192.81. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 78,121 shares in the company, valued at $2,936,568.39. This represents a 3.17% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CFO Matthew Friend sold 2,463 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $41.60, for a total transaction of $102,460.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 82,165 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,418,064. This represents a 2.91% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold a total of 14,974 shares of company stock worth $600,126 over the last 90 days. 1.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

NIKE Profile

NIKE, Inc is a global athletic footwear, apparel, equipment and accessories company headquartered near Beaverton, Oregon. The company designs, develops, markets and sells products under the Nike, Jordan and Converse brands, serving athletes and consumers across a broad range of sports and lifestyle categories.

NIKE's product portfolio includes athletic and casual footwear, performance and lifestyle apparel, sports equipment, accessories and digital fitness-related offerings. The company distributes its products through company-owned retail stores, digital platforms and wholesale partners, while also operating direct-to-consumer and membership programs.

The company traces its origins to 1964, when Phil Knight and Bill Bowerman founded Blue Ribbon Sports.

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