Nike shares gain for a second straight session on Friday, sportswear maker raises quarterly dividend as it expects rebound in sales

Nike Inc (NKE) said on Friday that its quarterly dividend would be increased by 12%, or $0.03 per share, following another 11% raise in 2019.

The company will pay a cash dividend of $0.275 per share on its outstanding class A and class B stock on December 29th.

Nike shares closed higher for a second consecutive trading session in New York on Friday. The stock went up 0.81% ($1.07) to $132.98, after touching an intraday high at $133.53, or a price level not seen since November 18th ($133.98).

Shares of Nike Inc have risen 31.26% so far in 2020 compared with a 10.11% gain for the benchmark index, S&P 500 (SPX).

In 2019, Nike Inc’s stock went up 36.65%, thus, it again outperformed the S&P 500, which registered a 28.88% gain.

Fiscal 2020 is Nike’s 19th straight year of rising dividend payouts, while other companies either reduced or paused returns to shareholders due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

In September, Nike said that it expected a significant increase in sales during the second half of its fiscal year ended in May 2021, as it recovers from a slump earlier this year when it faced canceled orders by retailers and lower store traffic in key markets due to lockdown restrictions.

Analyst stock price forecast and recommendation

According to CNN Money, the 32 analysts, offering 12-month forecasts regarding Nike Inc’s stock price, have a median target of $149.50, with a high estimate of $185.00 and a low estimate of $117.00. The median estimate represents a 12.42% upside compared to the closing price of $132.98 on November 20th.

The same media also reported that at least 26 out of 34 surveyed investment analysts had rated Nike Inc’s stock as “Buy”, while 4 – as “Hold”.