NIKE (NYSE:NKE) Reaches New 52-Week Low Following Analyst Downgrade

NIKE, Inc. (NYSE:NKE) reached a new 52-week low on Wednesday after Royal Bank Of Canada lowered their price target on the stock from $45.00 to $40.00. Royal Bank Of Canada currently has a sector perform rating on the stock. NIKE traded as low as $35.16 and last traded at $35.2840, with a volume of 25289716 shares. The stock had previously closed at $35.84.

Several other brokerages also recently weighed in on NKE. Citigroup downgraded NIKE from a “neutral” rating to a “negative” rating in a research note on Monday, September 14th. CICC Research reduced their target price on NIKE from $58.00 to $44.80 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, July 2nd. HSBC decreased their price target on shares of NIKE from $48.00 to $40.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Monday. Berenberg Bank set a $49.00 price target on shares of NIKE and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, July 3rd. Finally, UBS Group set a $42.00 price objective on shares of NIKE and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 17th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have assigned a Buy rating, twenty-one have assigned a Hold rating and seven have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $46.62.

Insider Transactions at NIKE

In other NIKE news, EVP Philip McCartney sold 2,559 shares of NIKE stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $37.59, for a total value of $96,192.81. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 78,121 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,936,568.39. The trade was a 3.17% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CFO Matthew Friend sold 2,463 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $41.60, for a total transaction of $102,460.80. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 82,165 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,418,064. The trade was a 2.91% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold a total of 14,974 shares of company stock worth $600,126 in the last quarter. Insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Key Headlines Impacting NIKE

Here are the key news stories impacting NIKE this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Jefferies expects NIKE to potentially beat first-quarter expectations, citing stabilizing North American and wholesale trends, better inventory levels and earlier gross-margin improvement. The November investor day could provide another turnaround catalyst. Nike set for Q1 beat as margins improve, Jefferies says
• Positive Sentiment: Short interest has reached an estimated 87 million shares, worth about $1.4 billion in paper profits for short sellers. A results beat or more constructive guidance could force short covering and create upside volatility. NKE short interest and potential earnings squeeze
• Neutral Sentiment: NIKE is overhauling its China strategy to reduce discounting and rebuild its premium positioning, while new footwear launches and the “Sport Offense” plan aim to restore product momentum. These initiatives may help longer term but have yet to demonstrate a material near-term recovery. Nike China strategy overhaul
• Negative Sentiment: Options traders expect limited relief from the earnings report. Consensus calls for approximately $0.44 in EPS on $11.34 billion of revenue, implying year-over-year declines in both measures. Nike earnings expectations and options outlook
• Negative Sentiment: Several analysts have lowered price targets, including RBC to $40 and Piper Sandler to $38, citing weak China demand, retailer order pullbacks, heavy competition and a promotional selling environment. Wall Street also expects conservative guidance, increasing downside risk if management does not provide evidence of acceleration. Analyst views on Nike’s turnaround

Hedge Funds Weigh In On NIKE

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of NKE. QRG Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake in NIKE by 8.5% in the second quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 106,883 shares of the footwear maker’s stock valued at $4,388,000 after acquiring an additional 8,338 shares during the period. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of NIKE by 214.0% in the 2nd quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 32,596 shares of the footwear maker’s stock worth $1,338,000 after purchasing an additional 22,215 shares during the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of NIKE by 98.4% in the 2nd quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 2,202,581 shares of the footwear maker’s stock worth $90,416,000 after purchasing an additional 1,092,282 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its position in NIKE by 6.8% during the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 63,598,789 shares of the footwear maker’s stock valued at $2,636,104,000 after purchasing an additional 4,052,428 shares during the period. Finally, The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company grew its stake in NIKE by 1.9% during the 2nd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 640,889 shares of the footwear maker’s stock worth $26,308,000 after buying an additional 11,884 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 64.25% of the company’s stock.

NIKE Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40, a quick ratio of 1.36 and a current ratio of 1.96. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $39.29 and a 200 day moving average of $43.20. The stock has a market capitalization of $52.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.95, a P/E/G ratio of 2.03 and a beta of 1.10.

NIKE (NYSE:NKE) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, June 30th. The footwear maker reported $0.20 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.11 by $0.09. The company had revenue of $10.97 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $10.85 billion. NIKE had a return on equity of 16.54% and a net margin of 6.70%.The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 1.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.14 earnings per share. Equities analysts predict that NIKE, Inc. will post 1.65 EPS for the current year.

NIKE Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 1st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 1st will be paid a dividend of $0.41 per share. This represents a $1.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 1st. NIKE’s payout ratio is presently 78.47%.

NIKE Company Profile

NIKE, Inc is a global sportswear company that designs, develops, markets and sells athletic footwear, apparel, equipment, accessories and related services. Its products are marketed under the NIKE, Jordan and Converse brands and are used across a broad range of sports and lifestyle activities, including running, basketball, football, training and outdoor pursuits.

The company distributes its products through a combination of wholesale partners, NIKE-owned retail stores and digital platforms.