NIKE (NYSE:NKE) Stock Price Down 3.9% Following Analyst Downgrade

Key Points

• NIKE shares fell 3.9% after Wells Fargo downgraded the stock from overweight to equal weight and set a $45 price target. The stock traded as low as $42.39, well below its prior close of $44.14.
• Several other analysts have also cut ratings or price targets recently, and MarketBeat now shows NIKE with a consensus Hold rating and an average target price of $62.04.
• Despite the stock pressure, insiders have been buying: CEO Elliott Hill and Director Robert Holmes Swan both made sizable purchases in April, while NIKE also recently reported quarterly earnings that beat EPS and revenue estimates.

NIKE, Inc. (NYSE:NKE - Get Free Report)'s stock price was down 3.9% during trading on Monday after Wells Fargo & Company downgraded the stock from an overweight rating to an equal weight rating. Wells Fargo & Company now has a $45.00 price target on the stock. NIKE traded as low as $42.39 and last traded at $42.4160. Approximately 23,854,685 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 23% from the average daily volume of 19,361,193 shares. The stock had previously closed at $44.14.

NKE has been the topic of several other research reports. CICC Research downgraded NIKE from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating and lowered their price target for the company from $69.00 to $58.00 in a report on Monday, April 6th. BNP Paribas Exane lowered their price target on NIKE from $35.00 to $23.00 and set an "underperform" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 1st. Guggenheim lowered their price target on NIKE from $77.00 to $74.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 1st. KeyCorp lowered their price target on NIKE from $90.00 to $75.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. Finally, Williams Trading lowered their price target on NIKE from $80.00 to $57.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock 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. According to data from MarketBeat.com, NIKE currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $62.04.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other NIKE news, CEO Elliott Hill acquired 23,660 shares of NIKE stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 13th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $42.27 per share, with a total value of $1,000,108.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer 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. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Robert Holmes Swan acquired 11,781 shares of NIKE stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 7th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $42.44 per share, with a total value of $499,985.64. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 55,074 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,337,340.56. This trade represents a 27.21% increase in their position. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. Insiders purchased a total of 64,441 shares of company stock valued at $2,734,204 over the last ninety days. 0.80% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On NIKE

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Oslo Pensjonsforsikring AS bought a new stake in shares of NIKE in the first quarter valued at approximately $123,000. Andra AP fonden boosted its position in shares of NIKE by 1,731.4% in the first quarter. Andra AP fonden now owns 234,417 shares of the footwear maker's stock valued at $12,382,000 after acquiring an additional 221,617 shares during the period. Glenview Trust Co boosted its position in shares of NIKE by 7.6% in the first quarter. Glenview Trust Co now owns 164,075 shares of the footwear maker's stock valued at $8,666,000 after acquiring an additional 11,655 shares during the period. Leith Wheeler Investment Counsel Ltd. boosted its position in shares of NIKE by 4.2% in the first quarter. Leith Wheeler Investment Counsel Ltd. now owns 324,568 shares of the footwear maker's stock valued at $17,144,000 after acquiring an additional 13,072 shares during the period. Finally, AlTi Global Inc. lifted its position in NIKE by 445.0% in the first quarter. AlTi Global Inc. now owns 34,024 shares of the footwear maker's stock worth $1,797,000 after purchasing an additional 27,781 shares during the period. 64.25% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

NIKE Stock Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $62.81 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.09, a PEG ratio of 2.34 and a beta of 1.12. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $50.16 and a 200 day moving average of $59.14. The company has a quick ratio of 1.45, a current ratio of 2.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50.

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

NIKE Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 1st. Investors of record on Monday, June 1st will be given a $0.41 dividend. This represents a $1.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 1st. NIKE's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 108.61%.

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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