NIKE (NYSE:NKE) Trading Down 1.5% - Should You Sell?

Key Points

• NIKE shares fell 1.5% to $44.36 on Wednesday with ~13.2M shares traded (-31% vs. average) and are trading below their 50‑day ($52.24) and 200‑day ($59.97) moving averages; analysts have a consensus Hold rating with a $62.34 price target.
• The company beat quarterly EPS and revenue (EPS $0.35 vs. $0.29 estimate; revenue $11.28B vs. $11.23B) but EPS declined year‑over‑year from $0.54 and net margin remains modest at 4.84%; analysts project FY EPS of $1.52.
• NIKE pays a $0.41 quarterly dividend (annualized $1.64, yield 3.7%) but has a high payout ratio of 108.61%, while insiders recently bought shares (directors purchased at ~$42–$43) and institutional investors own about 64.25% of the stock.

NIKE, Inc. (NYSE:NKE - Get Free Report)'s stock price dropped 1.5% on Wednesday . The stock traded as low as $44.15 and last traded at $44.3590. Approximately 13,208,890 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 31% from the average daily volume of 19,268,402 shares. The stock had previously closed at $45.03.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently commented on NKE. Needham & Company LLC downgraded shares of NIKE from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, January 8th. UBS Group dropped their price objective on shares of NIKE from $58.00 to $54.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 1st. Barclays dropped their price objective on shares of NIKE from $73.00 to $67.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 1st. HSBC downgraded shares of NIKE from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and dropped their price objective for the company from $90.00 to $48.00 in a report on Monday, April 13th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of NIKE in a report on Friday, April 24th. Seventeen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seventeen have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $62.34.

NIKE Price Performance

The stock's fifty day moving average is $52.24 and its 200-day moving average is $59.97. The stock has a market capitalization of $65.69 billion, a PE ratio of 29.38, a P/E/G ratio of 2.39 and a beta of 1.31. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a current ratio of 2.14 and a quick ratio of 1.45.

NIKE (NYSE:NKE - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, March 31st. The footwear maker reported $0.35 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.29 by $0.06. NIKE had a net margin of 4.84% and a return on equity of 16.41%. The firm had revenue of $11.28 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $11.23 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.54 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was up .1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts predict that NIKE, Inc. will post 1.52 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

NIKE Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 1st. Investors of record on Monday, March 2nd were issued a dividend of $0.41 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 2nd. This represents a $1.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.7%. NIKE's dividend payout ratio is 108.61%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Robert Holmes Swan purchased 11,781 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 7th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $42.44 per share, with a total value of $499,985.64. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director owned 55,074 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,337,340.56. This represents a 27.21% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director John W. Rogers, Jr. purchased 4,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 9th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $43.34 per share, for a total transaction of $173,360.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director directly owned 41,022 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,777,893.48. This represents a 10.80% increase in their position. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. Over the last three months, insiders bought 64,441 shares of company stock valued at $2,734,204. 0.80% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On NIKE

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

About NIKE

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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