Harley-Davidson (NYSE:HOG) Shares Down 11.8% – Here’s Why

Harley-Davidson, Inc. (NYSE:HOG)’s stock price was down 11.8% during trading on Thursday . The stock traded as low as $20.55 and last traded at $20.88. Approximately 2,100,266 shares were traded during trading, an increase of 10% from the average daily volume of 1,908,018 shares. The stock had previously closed at $23.68.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

HOG has been the topic of several recent research reports. 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 report on Thursday, February 6th. Robert W. Baird dropped their target price on Harley-Davidson from $32.00 to $26.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 4th. DA Davidson reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $31.00 price objective on shares of Harley-Davidson in a report on Wednesday. UBS Group reduced their target price on Harley-Davidson from $35.00 to $28.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 20th. Finally, Bank of America reduced their price target on shares of Harley-Davidson from $40.00 to $35.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, two have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $32.00.

Harley-Davidson Trading Up 4.9 %

The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $25.15 and its 200-day simple moving average is $29.67. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.79 billion, a PE ratio of 6.77, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.38 and a beta of 1.28. The company has a quick ratio of 1.19, a current ratio of 1.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41.

Harley-Davidson (NYSE:HOG) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The company reported ($0.93) earnings per share 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 firm earned $0.18 EPS. Equities analysts expect that Harley-Davidson, Inc. will post 3.44 earnings per share for the current year.

Harley-Davidson Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 28th were issued a $0.18 dividend. This is a boost from Harley-Davidson’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.17. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 28th. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.19%. Harley-Davidson’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 21.62%.

Insider Activity at Harley-Davidson

In other Harley-Davidson news, insider Luke Christopher Mansfield sold 3,400 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $25.96, for a total value 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 transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.87% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Harley-Davidson

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in HOG. Matrix Trust Co grew its holdings in shares of Harley-Davidson by 61.5% during the 1st quarter. Matrix Trust Co now owns 9,187 shares of the company’s stock worth $232,000 after acquiring an additional 3,498 shares during the period. Parallel Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Harley-Davidson by 35.6% during the first quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 3,578 shares of the company’s stock valued at $90,000 after purchasing an additional 939 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake in Harley-Davidson by 2,561.6% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 58,555 shares of the company’s stock worth $14,790,000 after purchasing an additional 56,355 shares during the period. Versant Capital Management Inc raised its holdings in Harley-Davidson by 3,514.8% in the first quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 976 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 949 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH purchased a new position in Harley-Davidson during the fourth quarter valued at $5,294,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.10% of the company’s stock.

About Harley-Davidson

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.