Harley-Davidson (NYSE:HOG) Cut to “Neutral” at Robert W. Baird

by · The Markets Daily

Robert W. Baird cut shares of Harley-Davidson (NYSE:HOG – Free Report) from an outperform rating to a neutral rating in a report released on Wednesday morning, Marketbeat reports. The firm currently has $40.00 price target on the stock, down from their prior price target of $44.00.

A number of other analysts have also recently commented on the stock. UBS Group increased their price target on shares of Harley-Davidson from $39.00 to $40.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a research note on Friday, August 23rd. 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 report on Thursday, September 19th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Harley-Davidson currently has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $45.43.

Read Our Latest Research Report on HOG

Harley-Davidson Stock Performance

HOG opened at $34.78 on Wednesday. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $37.11 and its 200 day simple moving average is $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 firm has a market capitalization of $4.68 billion, a PE ratio of 7.73, a PEG ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.44.

Harley-Davidson (NYSE:HOG – Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 25th. The company reported $1.63 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.40 by $0.23. The company had revenue of $1.62 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations 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% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.22 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect 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 share repurchase program on Thursday, July 25th that permits the company to buyback $1.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to buy up to 19.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are typically an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Harley-Davidson Announces Dividend

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Harley-Davidson

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. LSV Asset Management boosted its position in shares of Harley-Davidson by 17.3% in the second quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 5,705,775 shares of the company’s stock valued at $191,372,000 after acquiring an additional 842,407 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its holdings in shares of Harley-Davidson by 12.8% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 6,248,512 shares of the company’s stock worth $209,576,000 after purchasing an additional 708,260 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Harley-Davidson by 42.8% during the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 2,263,919 shares of the company’s stock worth $75,932,000 after purchasing an additional 678,092 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Harley-Davidson by 3.5% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 13,428,716 shares of the company’s stock valued at $587,372,000 after buying an additional 452,536 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Harley-Davidson by 134.7% in the fourth quarter. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC now owns 474,150 shares of the company’s stock valued at $17,468,000 after buying an additional 272,120 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 85.10% of the company’s stock.

About Harley-Davidson

(Get Free Report)

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.

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