NIKE (NYSE:NKE) Lowered to Sell Rating by Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen cut shares of NIKE (NYSE:NKE - Free Report) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a research note published on Friday morning.

A number of other research firms have also recently commented on NKE. Citigroup upped their target price on NIKE from $57.00 to $68.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday. Williams Trading cut their target price on NIKE from $93.00 to $73.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on NIKE from $56.00 to $64.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their target price on NIKE from $77.00 to $71.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, June 20th. Finally, China Renaissance started coverage on NIKE in a research note on Wednesday, March 19th. They set a "hold" rating on the stock. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have issued a hold rating, sixteen have issued a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $79.33.

NIKE Price Performance

Shares of NYSE NKE traded up $9.55 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $72.09. The company's stock had a trading volume of 117,428,527 shares, compared to its average volume of 15,803,806. The firm has a market capitalization of $106.63 billion, a PE ratio of 33.38, a P/E/G ratio of 2.29 and a beta of 1.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57, a current ratio of 2.19 and a quick ratio of 1.52. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $60.63 and a two-hundred day moving average of $67.60. NIKE has a 52 week low of $52.28 and a 52 week high of $90.62.

NIKE (NYSE:NKE - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, June 26th. The footwear maker reported $0.14 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.12 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $11.10 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.69 billion. NIKE had a return on equity of 23.00% and a net margin of 6.95%. The business's quarterly revenue was down 11.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.99 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that NIKE will post 2.05 EPS for the current fiscal year.

NIKE Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 2nd will be given a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 2nd. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.22%. NIKE's payout ratio is 53.16%.

Insider Transactions at NIKE

In other news, Director Robert Holmes Swan bought 8,600 shares of NIKE stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, April 4th. The stock was bought at an average price of $58.46 per share, for a total transaction of $502,756.00. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 31,983 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,869,726.18. The trade was a 36.78% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 1.10% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On NIKE

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Heck Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in NIKE in the 4th quarter worth $28,000. Stone House Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in NIKE in the 1st quarter worth $25,000. LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA raised its stake in NIKE by 110.5% in the 4th quarter. LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA now owns 400 shares of the footwear maker's stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 210 shares during the last quarter. Hopwood Financial Services Inc. purchased a new position in NIKE in the 4th quarter worth $30,000. Finally, EnRich Financial Partners LLC raised its stake in NIKE by 196.4% in the 4th quarter. EnRich Financial Partners LLC now owns 412 shares of the footwear maker's stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 273 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.