Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky Purchases 78,106 Shares of NIKE, Inc. $NKE

Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky grew its position in NIKE, Inc. (NYSE:NKE) by 42.2% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 263,125 shares of the footwear maker’s stock after buying an additional 78,106 shares during the period. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky’s holdings in NIKE were worth $16,765,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of NKE. Guerra Advisors Inc bought a new stake in shares of NIKE in the 3rd quarter valued at about $34,000. Gordian Capital Singapore Pte Ltd acquired a new stake in NIKE in the 3rd quarter valued at about $35,000. Accredited Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in NIKE by 268.6% during the third quarter. Accredited Wealth Management LLC now owns 516 shares of the footwear maker’s stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 376 shares during the period. Strive Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in NIKE during the third quarter worth approximately $40,000. Finally, Matrix Trust Co increased its position in NIKE by 43.6% during the fourth quarter. Matrix Trust Co now owns 596 shares of the footwear maker’s stock worth $38,000 after buying an additional 181 shares during the last quarter. 64.25% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Trending Headlines about NIKE

Here are the key news stories impacting NIKE this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Sanford C. Bernstein reaffirmed a “buy” on NKE, keeping institutional-level support for the turnaround thesis and signaling confidence from an influential sell-side shop. MarketScreener
• Positive Sentiment: CEO-level confidence: reports say Nike’s CEO personally increased a compensation/skin-in-the-game commitment by $1M, which investors often view as alignment with shareholder interests. MSN
• Positive Sentiment: Market reaction to the latest cost actions was initially supportive: NKE ticked up after-hours when the company announced another round of layoffs, suggesting investors see near-term margin/cash-flow benefits. MSN After-hours
• Positive Sentiment: DZ Bank also reaffirmed a buy rating, adding a second endorsement from the sell-side that supports the case for recovery if execution improves. AmericanBankingNews
• Neutral Sentiment: Nike announced roughly 1,400 job cuts (mainly in technology) as part of its “Win Now” efficiency push — a move that should reduce costs but also underscores that the turnaround is still in progress. WSJ
• Negative Sentiment: Short interest jumped ~22.8% in April to ~56.1M shares (≈3.8% of float), signaling growing bearish positioning and increased potential selling pressure despite a modest days-to-cover ratio (~1.4). (internal short-interest report)
• Negative Sentiment: Analyst debate and structural concerns persist: commentary about a potential “generational reset” and multi-year share losses reflects skepticism that execution and product momentum will recover quickly. Benzinga
• Negative Sentiment: Competitive pressure and talent migration (e.g., a former Nike executive named CEO at Lululemon) highlight market-share threats that could weigh on near-term sales recovery. FinancialPost

Insider Buying and Selling at NIKE

In other NIKE news, Director Robert Holmes Swan acquired 11,781 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 7th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $42.44 per share, for a total transaction of $499,985.64. Following the purchase, the director directly owned 55,074 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,337,340.56. This trade represents a 27.21% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Elliott Hill acquired 23,660 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, April 13th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $42.27 per share, with a total value of $1,000,108.20. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer directly owned 265,247 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,211,990.69. This trade represents a 9.79% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have acquired 64,441 shares of company stock worth $2,734,204 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.80% of the company’s stock.

NIKE Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE NKE opened at $44.74 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a current ratio of 2.14 and a quick ratio of 1.45. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $52.99 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $60.27. NIKE, Inc. has a one year low of $42.09 and a one year high of $80.17. The firm has a market cap of $66.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.63, a P/E/G ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 1.31.

NIKE (NYSE:NKE) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, March 31st. The footwear maker reported $0.35 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.29 by $0.06. NIKE had a return on equity of 16.41% and a net margin of 4.84%.The firm had revenue of $11.28 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $11.23 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.54 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up .1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts forecast that NIKE, Inc. will post 1.52 EPS for the current year.

NIKE Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 1st. Investors of record on Monday, March 2nd were given a dividend of $0.41 per share. This represents a $1.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 2nd. NIKE’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 108.61%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. HSBC downgraded NIKE from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and cut their price target for the company from $90.00 to $48.00 in a report on Monday, April 13th. UBS Group dropped their price objective on shares of NIKE from $58.00 to $54.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 1st. Piper Sandler restated a “neutral” rating and set a $50.00 target price (down from $60.00) on shares of NIKE in a research note on Friday, April 10th. Robert W. Baird reduced their target price on shares of NIKE from $85.00 to $70.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 1st. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $52.00 price target (down from $76.00) on shares of NIKE in a research note on Wednesday, April 1st. Seventeen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seventeen have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, NIKE presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $62.34.

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).