NIKE (NYSE:NKE) Downgraded by Williams Trading to Hold

Williams Trading lowered shares of NIKE (NYSE:NKE) from a strong-buy rating to a hold rating in a research note released on Friday morning,Zacks reports.

A number of other research analysts have also recently commented on NKE. Morgan Stanley set a $27.00 target price on shares of NIKE and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Friday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their price objective on shares of NIKE from $45.00 to $37.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, September 28th. KeyCorp reissued a “sector weight” rating on shares of NIKE in a research note on Friday. Freedom Broker upgraded shares of NIKE from a “sell” rating to a “buy” rating and cut their target price for the company from $54.00 to $51.00 in a research report on Friday. Finally, Evercore cut their target price on shares of NIKE from $46.00 to $28.00 in a research report on Monday, September 28th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have assigned a Buy rating, twenty-two have issued a Hold rating and eight have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $42.12.

NIKE Price Performance

Shares of NKE stock opened at $33.88 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.36, a current ratio of 1.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40. NIKE has a twelve month low of $31.97 and a twelve month high of $74.78. The company has a market cap of $50.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.29, a P/E/G ratio of 2.42 and a beta of 1.09. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $38.88 and a 200 day simple moving average of $42.88.

NIKE (NYSE:NKE) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 1st. The footwear maker reported $0.48 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.43 by $0.05. NIKE had a return on equity of 16.18% and a net margin of 6.74%.The business had revenue of $11.21 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $11.32 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.49 earnings per share. NIKE’s revenue was down 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. NIKE has set its FY 2027 guidance at 1.150-1.350 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that NIKE will post 1.61 EPS for the current fiscal year.

NIKE Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 1st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 1st were paid a $0.41 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, September 1st. This represents a $1.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.8%. NIKE’s dividend payout ratio is currently 78.47%.

Insider Transactions at NIKE

In related news, EVP Philip McCartney sold 2,559 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $37.59, for a total value of $96,192.81. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 78,121 shares in the company, valued at $2,936,568.39. This trade represents a 3.17% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Amy Montagne sold 4,867 shares of NIKE stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $42.05, for a total transaction of $204,657.35. Following the sale, the insider owned 57,436 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,415,183.80. This represents a 7.81% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 14,974 shares of company stock worth $600,126. 1.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On NIKE

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Cornerstone Financial Management LLC bought a new position in NIKE during the 4th quarter worth $26,000. Sankala Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of NIKE in the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. Scarborough Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of NIKE in the 1st quarter valued at about $25,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. grew its position in shares of NIKE by 108.4% in the 1st quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 548 shares of the footwear maker’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 285 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Atlas Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in shares of NIKE in the first quarter valued at about $31,000. Institutional investors own 64.25% of the company’s stock.

Key NIKE News

Here are the key news stories impacting NIKE this week:

• Positive Sentiment: NIKE reported fiscal Q1 EPS of $0.48, above the $0.43 analyst consensus. The company also retains a strong balance sheet, with approximately $8.4 billion in cash and short-term investments, while its dividend yield is approaching 5%. NIKE Posts Earnings Results
• Positive Sentiment: Some analysts see the selloff as an opportunity. Freedom Broker upgraded NKE from “sell” to “buy” with a $51 price target, while BTIG maintained a “buy” rating with a $50 target. Bernstein called the stock “de-risked” following the earnings release. Bernstein says Nike stock is de-risked
• Neutral Sentiment: NIKE is launching the Pace restructuring program, targeting approximately $2.5 billion in savings. Management said the plan is intended to simplify operations and support performance categories, but implementation will include further job cuts likely extending into 2027. NIKE fiscal 2027 first-quarter results
• Neutral Sentiment: The company’s dividend appears supported by its liquidity and history of 24 consecutive years of increases, although a higher yield also reflects the stock’s substantial decline and investors’ concerns about future earnings.
• Negative Sentiment: Fiscal Q1 revenue fell 4.3% year over year to $11.21 billion, below the $11.32 billion consensus estimate. Weakness in Greater China, Sportswear and Jordan continued to weigh on sales, while competition and changing consumer preferences are pressuring the brand. Nike plans more job cuts and forecasts revenue drop
• Negative Sentiment: Management expects fiscal 2027 revenue to decline by a high-single-digit percentage and provided EPS guidance of $1.15–$1.35, well below the roughly $1.66 analyst consensus. The outlook suggests Nike’s turnaround may take longer and be more costly than investors expected. Nike shares fall after weak outlook and layoffs
• Negative Sentiment: Several firms reduced price targets, including Citi to $32 and JPMorgan to $33, with neutral or underweight ratings. Zacks also placed NKE on its Strong Sell list, reinforcing concerns about margin pressure, China weakness and delayed recovery.

NIKE Company Profile

NIKE, Inc is a global sportswear company that designs, develops, markets and sells athletic footwear, apparel, equipment, accessories and related services. Its products are marketed under the NIKE, Jordan and Converse brands and are used across a broad range of sports and lifestyle activities, including running, basketball, football, training and outdoor pursuits.

The company distributes its products through a combination of wholesale partners, NIKE-owned retail stores and digital platforms.