Morgan Stanley Cuts NIKE (NYSE:NKE) Price Target to $74.00

NIKE (NYSE:NKE) had its target price decreased by Morgan Stanley from $80.00 to $74.00 in a research note released on Friday morning,Benzinga reports. Morgan Stanley currently has an equal weight rating on the footwear maker’s stock.

A number of other equities research analysts have also weighed in on NKE. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price objective on shares of NIKE from $88.00 to $79.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Monday, August 26th. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price target on shares of NIKE from $82.00 to $80.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on NIKE from $80.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, September 30th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on NIKE from $95.00 to $92.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, December 16th. Finally, Bank of America reduced their price target on NIKE from $100.00 to $95.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. Fifteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, NIKE currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $89.77.

NIKE Price Performance

NKE stock opened at $76.94 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $78.07 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $80.55. The stock has a market cap of $115.36 billion, a PE ratio of 22.05, a P/E/G ratio of 1.89 and a beta of 1.02. NIKE has a one year low of $70.75 and a one year high of $123.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57, a current ratio of 2.36 and a quick ratio of 1.58.

NIKE (NYSE:NKE) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, December 19th. The footwear maker reported $0.78 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.63 by $0.15. NIKE had a net margin of 10.60% and a return on equity of 39.84%. The company had revenue of $12.35 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $12.11 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.03 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 7.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts predict that NIKE will post 2.72 EPS for the current fiscal year.

NIKE Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 2nd. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 2nd will be given a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 2nd. This is an increase from NIKE’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.37. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.08%. NIKE’s dividend payout ratio is currently 45.85%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On NIKE

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in NKE. Tempus Wealth Planning LLC increased its position in NIKE by 9.6% during the 2nd quarter. Tempus Wealth Planning LLC now owns 3,969 shares of the footwear maker’s stock valued at $299,000 after buying an additional 347 shares in the last quarter. AMG National Trust Bank raised its position in shares of NIKE by 55.6% in the 2nd quarter. AMG National Trust Bank now owns 22,416 shares of the footwear maker’s stock worth $1,689,000 after purchasing an additional 8,012 shares during the last quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC raised its position in shares of NIKE by 39.8% in the 2nd quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 3,386 shares of the footwear maker’s stock worth $255,000 after purchasing an additional 964 shares during the last quarter. IMA Advisory Services Inc. bought a new position in NIKE in the 2nd quarter worth about $1,849,000. Finally, Patten Group Inc. grew its position in NIKE by 7.2% during the 2nd quarter. Patten Group Inc. now owns 9,330 shares of the footwear maker’s stock valued at $703,000 after purchasing an additional 623 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.