NIKE (NYSE:NKE) Shares Gap Up – Here’s What Happened

NIKE, Inc. (NYSE:NKE) gapped up before the market opened on Monday . The stock had previously closed at $76.50, but opened at $78.88. NIKE shares last traded at $80.15, with a volume of 7,163,478 shares.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Bank of America lowered their target price on shares of NIKE from $95.00 to $90.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, December 20th. UBS Group reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $73.00 price objective on shares of NIKE in a research note on Thursday, December 26th. Guggenheim reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $110.00 target price on shares of NIKE in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on NIKE from $92.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group reissued a “market perform” rating and issued a $80.00 price objective on shares of NIKE in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Fourteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $89.77.

NIKE Stock Up 0.0 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57, a current ratio of 2.22 and a quick ratio of 1.51. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $74.45 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $78.26. The company has a market cap of $120.90 billion, a PE ratio of 25.25, a P/E/G ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 1.01.

NIKE (NYSE:NKE) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, December 19th. The footwear maker reported $0.78 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.63 by $0.15. NIKE had a net margin of 9.98% and a return on equity of 36.99%. The firm had revenue of $12.35 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $12.11 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.03 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 7.7% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts anticipate that NIKE, Inc. will post 2.05 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

NIKE Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 3rd will be paid a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.96%. NIKE’s payout ratio is currently 49.38%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Chairman Mark G. Parker sold 169,732 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.83, for a total value of $12,361,581.56. Following the sale, the chairman now directly owns 896,632 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $65,301,708.56. This trade represents a 15.92 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director John W. Rogers, Jr. purchased 2,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 27th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $76.65 per share, with a total value of $191,625.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 34,403 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,636,989.95. The trade was a 7.84 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Corporate insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of NIKE

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in NKE. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of NIKE in the 4th quarter worth $1,126,288,000. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its holdings in shares of NIKE by 32.4% in the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 36,340,736 shares of the footwear maker’s stock worth $2,749,903,000 after purchasing an additional 8,898,591 shares during the period. Pacer Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in shares of NIKE by 6,029.6% in the 4th quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 6,821,270 shares of the footwear maker’s stock valued at $516,166,000 after purchasing an additional 6,709,985 shares in the last quarter. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P grew its holdings in shares of NIKE by 1,209,638.7% during the 3rd quarter. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P now owns 6,508,394 shares of the footwear maker’s stock worth $575,342,000 after purchasing an additional 6,507,856 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its holdings in shares of NIKE by 18.1% during the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 20,367,993 shares of the footwear maker’s stock worth $1,541,246,000 after purchasing an additional 3,121,929 shares during the period. 64.25% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

NIKE Company Profile

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.