Harley-Davidson (NYSE:HOG) Lowered to Hold at Baird R W

Baird R W lowered shares of Harley-Davidson (NYSE:HOG) from a strong-buy rating to a hold rating in a research report sent to investors on Wednesday, Zacks.com reports.

A number of other equities analysts also recently weighed in on HOG. Citigroup upped their price target on Harley-Davidson from $37.00 to $39.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a research report on Thursday, September 19th. Robert W. Baird downgraded Harley-Davidson from an outperform rating to a neutral rating and reduced their price target for the stock from $44.00 to $40.00 in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, UBS Group increased their price objective on Harley-Davidson from $39.00 to $40.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a report on Friday, August 23rd. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $45.43.

Harley-Davidson Price Performance

NYSE HOG opened at $34.78 on Wednesday. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $37.11 and a 200 day simple moving average of $36.71. Harley-Davidson has a 52-week low of $25.43 and a 52-week high of $44.16. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.44, a quick ratio of 1.32 and a current ratio of 1.50. The stock has a market cap of $4.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.73, a PEG ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.44.

Harley-Davidson (NYSE:HOG) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The company reported $1.63 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.40 by $0.23. Harley-Davidson had a return on equity of 20.33% and a net margin of 11.92%. The firm had revenue of $1.62 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.29 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.22 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 12.0% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts anticipate that Harley-Davidson will post 4.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Harley-Davidson announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock 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 generally a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Harley-Davidson Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 27th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 16th were issued a dividend of $0.1725 per share. This represents a $0.69 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.98%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 16th. Harley-Davidson’s dividend payout ratio is 15.33%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Harley-Davidson

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in HOG. US Bancorp DE lifted its holdings in Harley-Davidson by 2.2% during the 4th quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 16,023 shares of the company’s stock valued at $590,000 after purchasing an additional 346 shares during the last quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH increased its position in Harley-Davidson by 3.9% during the 4th quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 145,740 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,369,000 after buying an additional 5,442 shares during the period. Bank of Nova Scotia bought a new position in Harley-Davidson during the 4th quarter worth $374,000. First Trust Advisors LP increased its position in Harley-Davidson by 5.9% during the 4th quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 678,799 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,007,000 after buying an additional 37,651 shares during the period. Finally, Annex Advisory Services LLC bought a new position in Harley-Davidson during the 4th quarter worth $202,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.