NIKE’s (NKE) “Buy” Rating Reiterated at Sanford C. Bernstein

Sanford C. Bernstein reaffirmed their buy rating on shares of NIKE (NYSE:NKE) in a research report sent to investors on Tuesday morning,MarketScreener Latest Ratings reports. The firm currently has a $85.00 target price on the footwear maker’s stock.

A number of other analysts have also recently weighed in on NKE. Royal Bank Of Canada restated an “outperform” rating on shares of NIKE in a research note on Tuesday. BTIG Research reissued a “buy” rating and set a $100.00 target price on shares of NIKE in a research report on Friday, December 12th. Robert W. Baird decreased their target price on NIKE from $93.00 to $85.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, December 19th. Bank of America dropped their price target on shares of NIKE from $84.00 to $73.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, December 19th. Finally, Daiwa Capital Markets cut their price objective on shares of NIKE from $75.00 to $61.00 in a report on Tuesday, December 23rd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-three have assigned a Buy rating, eleven have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $75.32.

NIKE Stock Up 3.1%

Shares of NIKE stock opened at $65.21 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.40, a current ratio of 2.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50. NIKE has a 52-week low of $52.28 and a 52-week high of $82.44. The company has a market capitalization of $96.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.36, a P/E/G ratio of 2.72 and a beta of 1.28. The company has a 50 day moving average of $63.43 and a 200 day moving average of $69.42.

NIKE (NYSE:NKE) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, December 18th. The footwear maker reported $0.53 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.37 by $0.16. The business had revenue of $12.43 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $12.19 billion. NIKE had a net margin of 5.43% and a return on equity of 18.43%. The company’s revenue was up .6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.78 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that NIKE will post 2.05 EPS for the current fiscal year.

NIKE Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 2nd. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 1st were issued a $0.41 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 1st. This is an increase from NIKE’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. This represents a $1.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.5%. NIKE’s dividend payout ratio is currently 96.47%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other NIKE news, Chairman Mark G. Parker sold 86,078 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $64.80, for a total transaction of $5,577,854.40. Following the transaction, the chairman directly owned 647,615 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $41,965,452. This trade represents a 11.73% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Elliott Hill bought 16,388 shares of NIKE stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 29th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $61.10 per share, with a total value of $1,001,306.80. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief executive officer directly owned 241,587 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $14,760,965.70. The trade was a 7.28% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. Over the last ninety days, insiders acquired 91,229 shares of company stock worth $5,452,640. Corporate insiders own 0.80% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On NIKE

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Tompkins Financial Corp raised its stake in NIKE by 3.3% during the 4th quarter. Tompkins Financial Corp now owns 6,736 shares of the footwear maker’s stock valued at $429,000 after acquiring an additional 216 shares during the last quarter. M. Kulyk & Associates LLC increased its holdings in shares of NIKE by 3.1% in the fourth quarter. M. Kulyk & Associates LLC now owns 110,473 shares of the footwear maker’s stock valued at $7,038,000 after purchasing an additional 3,338 shares during the period. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC increased its holdings in shares of NIKE by 9.3% in the fourth quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 351,984 shares of the footwear maker’s stock valued at $23,006,000 after purchasing an additional 29,940 shares during the period. NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC raised its stake in shares of NIKE by 9.1% during the fourth quarter. NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC now owns 4,963 shares of the footwear maker’s stock worth $320,000 after purchasing an additional 413 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Grove Bank & Trust lifted its holdings in shares of NIKE by 51.4% during the fourth quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 6,733 shares of the footwear maker’s stock worth $429,000 after purchasing an additional 2,286 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 64.25% of the company’s stock.

NIKE News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting NIKE this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Insider buying by CEO Elliott Hill and other insiders is being highlighted as a vote of confidence in Nike’s early-turnaround signs; MarketBeat notes insiders stepping in and a consensus price target above the current level. MarketBeat Insider Buying
• Positive Sentiment: Sanford C. Bernstein reaffirmed a Buy rating on NKE, signaling some analyst-level conviction in the company’s multi-year recovery potential. Sanford C. Bernstein Reaffirms Buy
• Positive Sentiment: Bank of America reiterated a Buy rating citing North America-led improvement, inventory discipline, and recovery potential — supportive for medium-term sentiment. Bank of America Buy Rating
• Neutral Sentiment: Deutsche Bank initiated coverage with a Hold rating — adds another institutional voice but not a strong directional signal.
• Neutral Sentiment: Valuation comparisons (Zacks) with Adidas keep Nike in investors’ screens for relative-value thinking; these pieces are informational rather than catalysts. Zacks ADDYY vs NKE
• Neutral Sentiment: Opinion pieces asking whether to “buy the dip” flag Nike as a recovery candidate — these can support retail buying but are not hard news. Is It Time to Buy the Dip?
• Neutral Sentiment: AI-driven short-term price predictions (ChatGPT/Benzinga) are noise — may influence retail chatter but not fundamentals. Benzinga ChatGPT Price Prediction
• Negative Sentiment: Analyst downgrade on slow turnaround progress (China weakness and slower-than-expected recovery) is pressuring sentiment and is an explicit negative catalyst. TipRanks Downgrade
• Negative Sentiment: Coverage arguing Nike’s turnaround is taking longer than expected (MSN feature) amplifies caution and investor frustration despite high-profile insider buying. MSN: Needs More Than Tim Cook
• Negative Sentiment: Royal Bank of Canada issued a pessimistic near-term price forecast, adding to the sell-side caution. RBC Pessimistic Forecast
• Negative Sentiment: Nike quietly exiting/disposing of RTFKT after closing its digital collectibles arm signals strategic pullback from NFTs and raises questions about prior digital investments. Cointelegraph: RTFKT Exit

About NIKE

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).