Harley-Davidson, Inc. (NYSE:HOG) Short Interest Up 11.6% in November

Harley-Davidson, Inc. (NYSE:HOG) was the target of a significant growth in short interest in the month of November. As of November 15th, there was short interest totalling 10,360,000 shares, a growth of 11.6% from the October 31st total of 9,280,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 1,710,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 6.1 days. Currently, 8.2% of the company’s stock are sold short.

Insider Buying and Selling at Harley-Davidson

In related news, Director Maryrose Sylvester sold 4,278 shares of Harley-Davidson stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $32.25, for a total value of $137,965.50. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 17,687 shares in the company, valued at approximately $570,405.75. This trade represents a 19.48 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.87% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Pacer Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Harley-Davidson by 22,680.0% during the 3rd quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 4,182,864 shares of the company’s stock worth $161,166,000 after acquiring an additional 4,164,502 shares in the last quarter. LSV Asset Management increased its holdings in Harley-Davidson by 17.3% in the 2nd quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 5,705,775 shares of the company’s stock valued at $191,372,000 after buying an additional 842,407 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its holdings in Harley-Davidson by 12.8% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 6,248,512 shares of the company’s stock valued at $209,576,000 after purchasing an additional 708,260 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its stake in Harley-Davidson by 42.8% in the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 2,263,919 shares of the company’s stock valued at $75,932,000 after buying an additional 678,092 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Harley-Davidson by 559.4% in the 3rd quarter. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC now owns 394,680 shares of the company’s stock worth $15,207,000 after purchasing an additional 334,830 shares during the last quarter. 85.10% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on HOG shares. StockNews.com raised Harley-Davidson from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 27th. Citigroup reduced their price target on Harley-Davidson from $39.00 to $34.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, October 25th. Baird R W downgraded Harley-Davidson from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Bank of America dropped their target price on Harley-Davidson from $50.00 to $45.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, October 15th. Finally, Robert W. Baird cut Harley-Davidson from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their price objective for the stock from $44.00 to $40.00 in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $42.57.

Harley-Davidson Stock Performance

Harley-Davidson stock opened at $33.82 on Wednesday. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $34.21 and its 200 day moving average price is $35.02. The company has a market capitalization of $4.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.62, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.46 and a beta of 1.47. Harley-Davidson has a 12-month low of $30.48 and a 12-month high of $44.16. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.38, a current ratio of 1.41 and a quick ratio of 1.25.

Harley-Davidson Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 23rd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 10th will be issued a $0.1725 dividend. This represents a $0.69 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.04%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 10th. Harley-Davidson’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 15.54%.

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.