The Goldman Sachs Group Has Lowered Expectations for NIKE (NYSE:NKE) Stock Price

NIKE (NYSE:NKE) had its price objective lowered by research analysts at The Goldman Sachs Group from $77.00 to $76.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Thursday,MarketScreener reports. The brokerage currently has a “buy” rating on the footwear maker’s stock. The Goldman Sachs Group’s price objective would suggest a potential upside of 22.89% from the stock’s previous close.

Several other equities analysts also recently issued reports on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “buy” rating and set a $110.00 price target on shares of NIKE in a report on Monday, January 12th. KeyCorp reduced their price target on shares of NIKE from $90.00 to $75.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on shares of NIKE from $100.00 to $86.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, November 17th. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued a “buy” rating on shares of NIKE in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. Finally, Bank of America cut their price target on NIKE from $84.00 to $73.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, December 19th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-two have assigned a Buy rating, twelve have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $74.61.

NIKE Trading Down 1.2%

Shares of NKE traded down $0.76 on Thursday, hitting $61.84. 14,299,666 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 15,443,382. The firm has a market capitalization of $91.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.38, a P/E/G ratio of 3.20 and a beta of 1.28. NIKE has a 1 year low of $52.28 and a 1 year high of $82.44. The company has a quick ratio of 1.40, a current ratio of 2.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $63.96 and its two-hundred day moving average is $68.69.

NIKE (NYSE:NKE) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, December 18th. The footwear maker reported $0.53 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.37 by $0.16. NIKE had a return on equity of 18.43% and a net margin of 5.43%.The firm had revenue of $12.43 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $12.19 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.78 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up .6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that NIKE will post 2.05 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at NIKE

In other news, Director Timothy D. Cook acquired 50,000 shares of NIKE stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 22nd. The stock was bought at an average cost of $58.97 per share, with a total value of $2,948,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 105,480 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,220,155.60. This represents a 90.12% 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. Also, CEO Elliott Hill acquired 16,388 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 29th. The stock was bought at an average price of $61.10 per share, with a total value of $1,001,306.80. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer directly owned 241,587 shares in the company, valued at $14,760,965.70. This represents a 7.28% increase in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. Over the last three months, insiders have acquired 91,229 shares of company stock worth $5,452,640. 0.80% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank acquired a new position in NIKE in the 2nd quarter worth about $835,063,000. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main lifted its holdings in shares of NIKE by 3,129.9% in the 2nd quarter. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main now owns 9,091,426 shares of the footwear maker’s stock worth $645,855,000 after purchasing an additional 8,809,950 shares in the last quarter. Harris Associates L P bought a new position in NIKE in the 2nd quarter valued at about $621,525,000. Invesco Ltd. boosted its position in shares of NIKE by 66.1% during the second quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 12,157,198 shares of the footwear maker’s stock valued at $863,647,000 after buying an additional 4,840,114 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Jennison Associates LLC grew its stake in shares of NIKE by 42.3% in the 3rd quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 11,838,528 shares of the footwear maker’s stock worth $825,501,000 after acquiring an additional 3,518,666 shares in the last quarter. 64.25% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

NIKE Company Profile

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).