NIKE (NYSE:NKE) Rating Increased to Hold at Wall Street Zen

Key Points

• Wall Street Zen upgraded NIKE from sell to hold, keeping the stock’s overall consensus rating at Hold with an average price target of $62.04.
• NIKE recently reported quarterly earnings of $0.35 per share, beating estimates, and revenue of $11.28 billion, slightly above expectations. Analysts currently expect the company to earn $1.51 per share for the full year.
• Insider buying picked up, with Director Timothy D. Cook and CEO Elliott Hill both purchasing shares in April. The stock traded near its 52-week low at $41.88, well below its $80.17 high.

NIKE (NYSE:NKE - Get Free Report) was upgraded by equities research analysts at Wall Street Zen from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report released on Saturday.

A number of other equities research analysts have also commented on NKE. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price target on NIKE from $110.00 to $90.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 1st. KeyCorp lowered their target price on NIKE from $90.00 to $75.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. Sanford C. Bernstein restated a "buy" rating on shares of NIKE in a report on Monday, May 11th. Telsey Advisory Group cut their price target on shares of NIKE from $65.00 to $55.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 1st. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price target on shares of NIKE from $65.00 to $56.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 1st. Sixteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eighteen have issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $62.04.

NIKE Price Performance

Shares of NKE stock opened at $41.88 on Friday. NIKE has a 12-month low of $41.70 and a 12-month high of $80.17. The firm has a market capitalization of $62.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.74, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.23 and a beta of 1.12. The company has a quick ratio of 1.45, a current ratio of 2.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $47.89 and a 200-day moving average of $58.11.

NIKE (NYSE:NKE - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, March 31st. The footwear maker reported $0.35 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.29 by $0.06. NIKE had a return on equity of 16.41% and a net margin of 4.84%.The business had revenue of $11.28 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $11.23 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.54 EPS. The firm's revenue was up .1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts forecast that NIKE will post 1.51 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at NIKE

In other NIKE news, Director Timothy D. Cook purchased 25,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, April 10th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $42.43 per share, with a total value of $1,060,750.00. Following the purchase, the director directly owned 130,480 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,536,266.40. The trade was a 23.70% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Elliott Hill acquired 23,660 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 13th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $42.27 per share, for a total transaction of $1,000,108.20. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief executive officer directly owned 265,247 shares of the company's stock, valued at $11,211,990.69. The trade was a 9.79% increase in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last 90 days, insiders bought 64,441 shares of company stock worth $2,734,204. Insiders own 0.80% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On NIKE

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of NIKE by 1.5% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 116,993,541 shares of the footwear maker's stock worth $7,453,658,000 after buying an additional 1,702,342 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its stake in NIKE by 2.2% in the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 59,315,606 shares of the footwear maker's stock valued at $3,802,807,000 after purchasing an additional 1,275,494 shares in the last quarter. Capital World Investors increased its position in shares of NIKE by 16.2% during the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 49,069,951 shares of the footwear maker's stock worth $3,126,246,000 after purchasing an additional 6,830,938 shares during the last quarter. J. Stern & Co. LLP increased its position in shares of NIKE by 49,010.4% during the 4th quarter. J. Stern & Co. LLP now owns 48,054,542 shares of the footwear maker's stock worth $3,061,555,000 after purchasing an additional 47,956,692 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of NIKE by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 26,442,879 shares of the footwear maker's stock worth $1,677,251,000 after purchasing an additional 233,925 shares in the last quarter. 64.25% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

NIKE Company Profile

Nike, Inc NYSE: NKE is a global designer, marketer and distributor of athletic footwear, apparel, equipment and accessories. Founded in 1964 as Blue Ribbon Sports by Phil Knight and Bill Bowerman and renamed Nike in 1971, the company is headquartered near Beaverton, Oregon. Nike develops and commercializes products across performance and lifestyle categories for sports including running, basketball, soccer and training, and is known for signature technologies and design-driven product lines.

The company markets products under several primary brands, including Nike, Jordan and Converse, and sells through a combination of wholesale relationships, branded retail stores and direct-to-consumer channels such as company-operated stores and digital platforms (e.g., Nike.com and mobile apps).

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