ANALYSIS REPORT: NIKE is one of the world's most widely recognized ...

ANALYSIS REPORT: NIKE is one of the world's most widely recognized ...: "NIKE is one of the world's most widely recognized brands,sells athletic footwear and athletic apparel in over 170 countries around the world..."

NIKE is one of the world's most widely recognized brands,sells athletic footwear and athletic apparel in over 170 countries around the world,

NIKE's Footwear is manufactured outside the United States in the factories of China,Vietnam,Indonesia and Thailand .The main rawmaterial used in NIKE footwear are rubber,plastic compounds,and foam cushioning materials,nylon,leather,canvas, and polyurethane films used for cushioning components.

NIKE  brand apparel is also manufactured almost entirely outside of the United States in 34 different countries,The main materials used in NIKE apparel are natural and synthetic fabrics and threads,plastic and metal hardware,and water and heat resistant fabrics.

MANAGEMENT

Mr. Philip H. Knight has been Chairman of the Board of NIKE, Inc. He is director since 1968,his compensation is USD 3,456,450

Mr. Mark G. Parker has been President, Chief Executive Officer, Director of NIKE, Inc. since January 23, 2006,his compensation is USD 13,118,800

Mr. Donald W. Blair is Chief Financial Officer, Vice President of NIKE, Inc. He joined NIKE in November 1999,his compensation is USD 4,837,080

STRENGTHS

1. A very professionally competative company
2. Has ownership of no physical factories so production can be moved to a more cost effective location when necessary
3. Very well branded among consumers
4. Strong sense of marketing campaign by sponsoring top athletes.
5. Offer their products worldwide

WEAKNESS

1. The income of the business is still heavily dependent upon its share of the footwear market. This may leave it vulnerable if for any reason its market share erodes.
2. High prices compared to its competitors

OPPORTUNITIES

1. Expansion in the emerging markets such as China and India have a new richer generation of consumers
2. There is also the opportunity to develop products such as sport wear, sunglasses and jewellery. Such high value items do tend to have associated with them, high profits.

THREATS

1. Operating business internationally opens them to the possibilities of currency value fluctuations that can lead to losses.
2. The market for sports shoes and garments is very competitive ,Competitors are becoming more aggressive and creating high quality products
3. Retail sector is becoming price competitive. This ultimately means that consumers are shopping around for a better deal.

RECENT NEWS

On June 29, 2011, Nike reported fourth-quarter earnings increased 14% to $594 million, or $1.24 per share from $522 million a year earlier, beating most analyst expectations. Net sales rose to $5.77 billion from $5.08 billion. Analysts had expected earnings of $1.77 per share on revenue of $5.53 billion on average

10 YEARS SUMMARY  

YEAR	SALES	% CHANGE
11-May	20,860.00	9.7%
10-May	19,014.00	-0.85%
9-May	19,176.10	2.95%
8-May	18,627.00	14.09%
7-May	16,325.90	9.17%
6-May	14,954.90	8.84%
5-May	13,739.70	12.13%
4-May	12,253.10	14.55%
3-May	10,697.00	8.13%
2-May	9,893.00	4.26%

NIKE's sales has been increasing for the past 10 years except in 2010 which decreased 0.85% from 2009

Recently Company increased its fiscal 2015 revenue target to a new range of $28-30 billion, up from its previous target of $27 billion announced in May 2010. Additionally, the Company reaffirmed its goal of generating $12 billion of cumulative free cash flow from operations from fiscal 2011 through fiscal 2015. Both goals extend NIKE, Inc.’s long-term financial model of high single-digit revenue growth, mid-teens earnings per share growth and expanding returns on capital

EPS and FCF per share

YEAR	EPS	FCF PER SHARE
10-May	3.86	5.85
9-May	3.03	2.71
8-May	3.74	3.02
7-May	2.93	3.18
6-May	2.64	2.61
5-May	2.24	2.53
4-May	1.75	2.49
3-May	1.38	1.41
2-May	1.23	1.53
1-May	1.08	0.65

NIKE Free cash flow per share increasing every year except 2009,it has the ability to pay debt, pay dividends, buy back stock and facilitate the growth of business.

OUTSTANDING SHARES

YEAR	SHARES OUTSTANDING
10-May	484.0 Mil
9-May	485.5 Mil
8-May	491.1 Mil
7-May	501.7 Mil
6-May	512.0 Mil
5-May	522.2 Mil
4-May	526.2 Mil
3-May	527.2 Mil
2-May	532.2 Mil
1-May	537.2 Mil

when a company spends millions of dollars buying up its own shares, it says management believes that the market has gone too far in discounting the shares - a positive sign.

5% OWNERSHIP

INSTITUTION NAME	SHS HELD	%OUT	RPT DATE
Oak Hill Strategic Partners	20,889,252	5.4	3/31/2011

 ANALYSTS RECOMMANDATIONS

Jul 5, 2011 Outperform with price target $97 by FBR Capital

Mar 18, 2011  Buy with price target $96 by McAdams Wright Ragen

Mar 18, 2011 upgraded to Buy with price target $98 by Stifel Nicolaus

CONCLUSION

 This is not a recommendation to buy or sell shares of any securities discussed in this article. Please do your own research work.