UBS Group Reaffirms “Neutral” Rating for NIKE (NYSE:NKE)

NIKE (NYSE:NKE)‘s stock had its “neutral” rating reissued by equities research analysts at UBS Group in a report issued on Thursday,Benzinga reports. They presently have a $73.00 target price on the footwear maker’s stock. UBS Group’s price target points to a potential downside of 4.48% from the stock’s previous close.

NKE has been the subject of a number of other research reports. TD Cowen cut their price objective on shares of NIKE from $78.00 to $73.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, November 18th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on shares of NIKE from $95.00 to $92.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, December 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on shares of NIKE from $77.00 to $73.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, December 2nd. Telsey Advisory Group cut NIKE from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $93.00 to $80.00 in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their price target on NIKE from $92.00 to $82.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, December 16th. Fifteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $89.58.

NIKE Stock Performance

Shares of NKE stock opened at $76.42 on Thursday. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $77.47 and its 200 day moving average price is $80.00. The company has a quick ratio of 1.58, a current ratio of 2.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57. The stock has a market capitalization of $114.58 billion, a PE ratio of 21.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.89 and a beta of 1.02. NIKE has a 52-week low of $70.75 and a 52-week high of $109.96.

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 return on equity of 39.84% and a net margin of 10.60%. The company had revenue of $12.35 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $12.11 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.03 EPS. The company’s revenue was down 7.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that NIKE will post 2.72 EPS for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On NIKE

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in NKE. Teachers Insurance & Annuity Association of America purchased a new stake in shares of NIKE during the third quarter valued at approximately $30,000. VitalStone Financial LLC increased its stake in NIKE by 52.6% during the 3rd quarter. VitalStone Financial LLC now owns 435 shares of the footwear maker’s stock worth $38,000 after buying an additional 150 shares during the period. Dunhill Financial LLC lifted its holdings in NIKE by 52.2% in the 3rd quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 493 shares of the footwear maker’s stock worth $44,000 after buying an additional 169 shares in the last quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC purchased a new position in NIKE in the 2nd quarter valued at about $48,000. Finally, Ecofi Investissements SA acquired a new stake in shares of NIKE during the second quarter valued at about $49,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.