Harley-Davidson, Inc. (NYSE:HOG) Given Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

Harley-Davidson, Inc. (NYSE:HOG) has received a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the seven ratings firms that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and five have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year target price among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $46.00.

A number of analysts have issued reports on the company. UBS Group raised their target price on Harley-Davidson from $39.00 to $40.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, August 23rd. Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on shares of Harley-Davidson from $40.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, July 26th. Finally, Citigroup upped their target price on shares of Harley-Davidson from $37.00 to $39.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 19th.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Harley-Davidson

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Quadrant Capital Group LLC increased its stake in Harley-Davidson by 95.0% in the fourth quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 788 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 384 shares during the period. Principal Securities Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Harley-Davidson in the 4th quarter worth approximately $38,000. Future Financial Wealth Managment LLC bought a new position in shares of Harley-Davidson during the 1st quarter worth approximately $39,000. Neo Ivy Capital Management bought a new position in shares of Harley-Davidson during the 4th quarter worth approximately $50,000. Finally, American National Bank acquired a new stake in Harley-Davidson in the 1st quarter valued at $52,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.10% of the company’s stock.

Harley-Davidson Trading Up 2.9 %

NYSE:HOG opened at $39.37 on Monday. The company’s 50 day moving average is $36.95 and its 200-day moving average is $36.76. The company has a quick ratio of 1.32, a current ratio of 1.50 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.44. Harley-Davidson has a 12 month low of $25.43 and a 12 month high of $44.16. The firm has a market cap of $5.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.75, a P/E/G ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.44.

Harley-Davidson (NYSE:HOG) last released its 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. The firm had revenue of $1.62 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.29 billion. Harley-Davidson had a net margin of 11.92% and a return on equity of 20.33%. The business’s revenue was up 12.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.22 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Harley-Davidson will post 4.32 EPS for the current year.

Harley-Davidson announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback plan on Thursday, July 25th that allows the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to reacquire up to 19.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are often a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Harley-Davidson Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 27th. Investors of record on Monday, September 16th were given a $0.1725 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 16th. This represents a $0.69 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.75%. Harley-Davidson’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 15.33%.

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.