NIKE (NYSE:NKE) Shares Gap Down – What’s Next?

NIKE, Inc. (NYSE:NKE)’s share price gapped down prior to trading on Thursday . The stock had previously closed at $64.96, but opened at $56.37. NIKE shares last traded at $56.96, with a volume of 15,738,890 shares traded.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently weighed in on NKE. Truist Financial reduced their price objective on NIKE from $90.00 to $82.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, March 21st. China Renaissance began coverage on NIKE in a research report on Wednesday, March 19th. They issued a “hold” rating for the company. Cfra Research raised shares of NIKE to a “moderate buy” rating in a research report on Friday, March 21st. Stifel Nicolaus reaffirmed a “hold” rating and issued a $75.00 target price on shares of NIKE in a report on Friday. Finally, Guggenheim reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $110.00 price target on shares of NIKE in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Fifteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $87.38.

NIKE Trading Up 2.9 %

The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $72.96 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $76.33. The stock has a market capitalization of $84.57 billion, a PE ratio of 17.65, a PEG ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 1.02. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57, a quick ratio of 1.51 and a current ratio of 2.22.

NIKE (NYSE:NKE) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 20th. The footwear maker reported $0.54 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.28 by $0.26. The business had revenue of $11.27 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $11.02 billion. NIKE had a net margin of 9.98% and a return on equity of 36.99%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 9.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.98 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts forecast that NIKE, Inc. will post 2.05 earnings per share for the current year.

NIKE Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 3rd were issued a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.80%. NIKE’s dividend payout ratio is presently 53.16%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Chairman Mark G. Parker sold 169,732 shares of NIKE stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $72.83, for a total transaction of $12,361,581.56. Following the sale, the chairman now 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 position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Company insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On NIKE

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. JNBA Financial Advisors grew its stake in NIKE by 1.3% during the fourth quarter. JNBA Financial Advisors now owns 10,045 shares of the footwear maker’s stock valued at $760,000 after acquiring an additional 131 shares in the last quarter. Frisch Financial Group Inc. grew its position in shares of NIKE by 4.7% during the third quarter. Frisch Financial Group Inc. now owns 3,036 shares of the footwear maker’s stock valued at $269,000 after purchasing an additional 136 shares in the last quarter. Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV grew its position in shares of NIKE by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV now owns 20,446 shares of the footwear maker’s stock valued at $1,547,000 after purchasing an additional 136 shares in the last quarter. Elgethun Capital Management lifted its position in shares of NIKE by 13.7% in the fourth quarter. Elgethun Capital Management now owns 1,236 shares of the footwear maker’s stock worth $94,000 after buying an additional 149 shares in the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its stake in NIKE by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 15,014 shares of the footwear maker’s stock valued at $1,136,000 after buying an additional 150 shares during the last quarter. 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.