Needham & Company LLC Cuts NIKE (NYSE:NKE) Price Target to $66.00

NIKE (NYSE:NKE) had its price objective reduced by Needham & Company LLC from $75.00 to $66.00 in a research note released on Wednesday morning, Marketbeat reports. They currently have a buy rating on the footwear maker’s stock.

Other equities research analysts have also recently issued research reports about the stock. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on shares of NIKE from $70.00 to $61.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday. Dbs Bank upgraded shares of NIKE from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Citigroup reduced their price target on shares of NIKE from $72.00 to $57.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 28th. Robert W. Baird reduced their price target on shares of NIKE from $105.00 to $99.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, March 21st. Finally, Williams Trading reduced their price target on shares of NIKE from $93.00 to $73.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 21st. Seventeen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $78.74.

NIKE Price Performance

NKE stock opened at $59.78 on Wednesday. NIKE has a one year low of $52.28 and a one year high of $98.04. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $59.78 and its 200-day moving average price is $68.09. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57, a quick ratio of 1.52 and a current ratio of 2.19. The company has a market capitalization of $88.41 billion, a PE ratio of 19.86, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.10 and a beta of 1.21.

NIKE (NYSE:NKE) last released its earnings results on Thursday, March 20th. The footwear maker reported $0.54 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.28 by $0.26. NIKE had a net margin of 9.43% and a return on equity of 32.18%. The firm had revenue of $11.27 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $11.02 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.98 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 9.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts anticipate that NIKE will post 2.05 EPS for the current fiscal year.

NIKE Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 2nd will be paid a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.68%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 2nd. NIKE’s dividend payout ratio is currently 53.16%.

Insider Activity

In other NIKE news, Director Robert Holmes Swan acquired 8,600 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, April 4th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $58.46 per share, with a total value of $502,756.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 31,983 shares in the company, valued at $1,869,726.18. The trade was a 36.78% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of NIKE

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in NKE. Stone House Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in NIKE in the first quarter worth about $25,000. Heck Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in NIKE in the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA lifted its position in shares of NIKE by 110.5% during the fourth quarter. LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA now owns 400 shares of the footwear maker’s stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 210 shares during the last quarter. Hopwood Financial Services Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of NIKE during the fourth quarter valued at about $30,000. Finally, Saudi Central Bank purchased a new stake in shares of NIKE during the first quarter valued at about $30,000. 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.