Harley-Davidson, Inc. (NYSE:HOG) Increases Dividend to $0.18 Per Share

Harley-Davidson, Inc. (NYSE:HOG) declared a quarterly dividend on Friday, February 14th, RTT News reports. Investors of record on Friday, February 28th will be given a dividend of 0.18 per share on Friday, March 14th. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.71%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 28th. This is an increase from Harley-Davidson’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.17.

Harley-Davidson has raised its dividend by an average of 4.8% per year over the last three years. Harley-Davidson has a payout ratio of 17.5% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Research analysts expect Harley-Davidson to earn $4.43 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $0.72 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 16.3%.

Harley-Davidson Stock Performance

Shares of HOG stock opened at $26.54 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41, a quick ratio of 1.19 and a current ratio of 1.40. The firm has a market cap of $3.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.97, a P/E/G ratio of 0.38 and a beta of 1.46. Harley-Davidson has a 52 week low of $25.25 and a 52 week high of $44.16. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $28.28 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $32.66.

Harley-Davidson (NYSE:HOG) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The company reported ($0.93) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.65) by ($0.28). Harley-Davidson had a net margin of 9.25% and a return on equity of 13.64%. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.18 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Harley-Davidson will post 3.44 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Robert W. Baird decreased their price objective on Harley-Davidson from $40.00 to $36.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, December 31st. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Harley-Davidson from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 27th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on shares of Harley-Davidson from $33.00 to $31.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. DA Davidson reduced their price objective on shares of Harley-Davidson from $39.00 to $31.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, Bank of America dropped their target price on Harley-Davidson from $40.00 to $35.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $33.57.

Insider Transactions at Harley-Davidson

In other news, insider Luke Christopher Mansfield sold 3,400 shares of Harley-Davidson stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $25.96, for a total transaction of $88,264.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 23,555 shares in the company, valued at approximately $611,487.80. This trade represents a 12.61 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 0.87% 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.