Harley-Davidson, Inc. (NYSE:HOG) Sees Large Decrease in Short Interest

Harley-Davidson, Inc. (NYSE:HOG) saw a significant decline in short interest during the month of July. As of July 31st, there was short interest totalling 8,490,000 shares, a decline of 10.2% from the July 15th total of 9,450,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 1,690,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 5.0 days. Currently, 6.5% of the company’s stock are sold short.

Institutional Trading of Harley-Davidson

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in HOG. Quadrant Capital Group LLC increased its stake in Harley-Davidson by 95.0% in the 4th quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 788 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 384 shares during the last quarter. Principal Securities Inc. bought a new position in Harley-Davidson in the 4th quarter worth about $38,000. Lindbrook Capital LLC increased its stake in Harley-Davidson by 66.7% in the 4th quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 1,057 shares of the company’s stock worth $39,000 after acquiring an additional 423 shares during the last quarter. Future Financial Wealth Managment LLC bought a new position in Harley-Davidson in the 1st quarter worth about $39,000. Finally, Signaturefd LLC increased its stake in Harley-Davidson by 115.0% in the 4th quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 1,150 shares of the company’s stock worth $42,000 after acquiring an additional 615 shares during the last quarter. 85.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Harley-Davidson Stock Performance

Shares of HOG traded down $0.35 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $36.51. The stock had a trading volume of 1,107,747 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,731,753. The firm has a market cap of $4.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.11, a PEG ratio of 1.15 and a beta of 1.46. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $34.57 and a 200-day moving average price of $36.62. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.44, a current ratio of 1.50 and a quick ratio of 1.32. Harley-Davidson has a 52 week low of $25.43 and a 52 week high of $44.16.

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

Harley-Davidson announced that its board has initiated a share repurchase plan on Thursday, July 25th that authorizes the company to buyback $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to repurchase up to 19.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are generally an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently issued reports on HOG. Citigroup cut their target price on Harley-Davidson from $36.00 to $34.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, June 12th. Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on Harley-Davidson in a research report on Tuesday, April 23rd. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $50.00 price objective on the stock. Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective on Harley-Davidson from $40.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, July 26th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets cut their price objective on Harley-Davidson from $50.00 to $45.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 26th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Harley-Davidson currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $45.14.

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.