Harley-Davidson, Inc. (NYSE:HOG) Receives Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

Harley-Davidson, Inc. (NYSE:HOG) has been given a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the seven brokerages that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and five have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 1 year price objective among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $45.14.

HOG has been the topic of several recent research reports. Robert W. Baird lifted their target price on shares of Harley-Davidson from $40.00 to $44.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, July 26th. Morgan Stanley began coverage on shares of Harley-Davidson in a report on Tuesday, April 23rd. They set an “overweight” rating and a $50.00 target price on the stock. BMO Capital Markets cut their price objective on shares of Harley-Davidson from $50.00 to $45.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 26th. Finally, Citigroup cut their price objective on shares of Harley-Davidson from $36.00 to $34.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, June 12th.

Harley-Davidson Stock Performance

NYSE:HOG opened at $35.41 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.50, a quick ratio of 1.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.44. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.87, a PEG ratio of 1.15 and a beta of 1.46. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $34.49 and its 200 day simple moving average is $36.53. Harley-Davidson has a twelve month low of $25.43 and a twelve month high of $44.16.

Harley-Davidson (NYSE:HOG) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The company reported $1.63 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.40 by $0.23. The business had revenue of $1.62 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.29 billion. Harley-Davidson had a net margin of 11.92% and a return on equity of 20.33%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 12.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.22 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Harley-Davidson will post 4.35 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Harley-Davidson announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase plan on Thursday, July 25th that allows the company to buyback $1.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to buy up to 19.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are often an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Harley-Davidson Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 21st. Investors of record on Wednesday, June 5th were given a dividend of $0.1725 per share. This represents a $0.69 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.95%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, June 5th. Harley-Davidson’s dividend payout ratio is presently 15.33%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Harley-Davidson

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Quadrant Capital Group LLC boosted its stake in Harley-Davidson by 95.0% during the 4th quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 788 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 384 shares during the period. Future Financial Wealth Managment LLC acquired a new position in Harley-Davidson during the 1st quarter valued at about $39,000. Principal Securities Inc. acquired a new position in Harley-Davidson during the 4th quarter valued at about $38,000. Lindbrook Capital LLC boosted its stake in Harley-Davidson by 66.7% during the 4th quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 1,057 shares of the company’s stock valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 423 shares during the period. Finally, Signaturefd LLC boosted its stake in Harley-Davidson by 115.0% during the 4th quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 1,150 shares of the company’s stock valued at $42,000 after purchasing an additional 615 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 85.10% of the company’s stock.

Harley-Davidson Company Profile

Harley-Davidson, Inc manufactures and sells motorcycles in the United States and internationally. The company operates in three segments: Harley-Davidson Motor Company, LiveWire, and Harley-Davidson Financial Services. The Harley-Davidson Motor Company segment designs, manufactures, and sells motorcycles, including cruiser, trike, touring, standard, sportbike, adventure, and dual sport, as well as motorcycle parts, accessories, and apparel, as well as licenses its trademarks and related services.