Harley-Davidson (NYSE:HOG) Upgraded to “Hold” at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Harley-Davidson (NYSE:HOG) from a sell rating to a hold rating in a report published on Saturday morning,Wall Street Zen reports.

HOG has been the topic of several other reports. Griffin Securities set a $33.00 price objective on shares of Harley-Davidson in a report on Monday, August 17th. Citigroup increased their target price on Harley-Davidson from $27.00 to $31.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 8th. UBS Group lifted their price target on Harley-Davidson from $26.00 to $28.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 2nd. Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on Harley-Davidson from $28.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, July 24th. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on Harley-Davidson from $15.00 to $17.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 28th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have issued a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $27.44.

Harley-Davidson Stock Down 2.1%

NYSE:HOG opened at $25.93 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 1.90 and a quick ratio of 1.70. Harley-Davidson has a 1-year low of $17.09 and a 1-year high of $29.88. The company has a 50-day moving average of $26.83 and a 200 day moving average of $24.22. The firm has a market cap of $2.70 billion, a PE ratio of 15.91, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 8.52 and a beta of 1.29.

Harley-Davidson (NYSE:HOG) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 23rd. The company reported $0.75 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.65 by $0.10. Harley-Davidson had a net margin of 4.78% and a return on equity of 6.28%. The business had revenue of $1.23 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.17 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.88 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 5.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Harley-Davidson will post 0.56 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Harley-Davidson Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 29th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 15th will be issued a $0.1875 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 15th. This represents a $0.75 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.9%. Harley-Davidson’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 46.01%.

Insider Activity at Harley-Davidson

In other news, CFO Jonathan R. Root sold 1,554 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $27.46, for a total value of $42,672.84. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 26,292 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $721,978.32. This represents a 5.58% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CAO Gayle Littleton acquired 7,500 shares of Harley-Davidson stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 11th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $26.38 per share, with a total value of $197,850.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief accounting officer owned 7,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $197,850. The trade was a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. Over the last three months, insiders bought 57,500 shares of company stock valued at $1,439,550 and sold 4,662 shares valued at $119,316. 0.97% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Harley-Davidson

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Engineers Gate Manager LP increased its stake in shares of Harley-Davidson by 294.6% in the second quarter. Engineers Gate Manager LP now owns 99,046 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,423,000 after acquiring an additional 73,946 shares during the period. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC acquired a new position in Harley-Davidson during the second quarter valued at $242,000. Allworth Financial LP lifted its position in Harley-Davidson by 98.5% during the second quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 7,810 shares of the company’s stock valued at $191,000 after purchasing an additional 3,876 shares during the period. Nykredit A S purchased a new stake in Harley-Davidson in the second quarter valued at $88,000. Finally, Corient Private Wealth LP boosted its holdings in Harley-Davidson by 76.9% in the second quarter. Corient Private Wealth LP now owns 27,833 shares of the company’s stock valued at $681,000 after purchasing an additional 12,098 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.10% of the company’s stock.

About Harley-Davidson

Harley-Davidson, Inc is a Milwaukee, Wisconsin-based motorcycle company founded in 1903. Through its Harley-Davidson Motor Company business, it designs, manufactures and sells heavyweight motorcycles known for their touring, cruiser and performance-oriented models. The company also markets motorcycle parts, accessories, riding gear, apparel and branded merchandise.

Harley-Davidson sells its products through a network of independently owned dealerships and other distribution channels in North America and international markets, including Europe, the Middle East, Africa, Asia-Pacific and Latin America.