Harley-Davidson, Inc. (NYSE:HOG) Receives Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Brokerages

Shares of Harley-Davidson, Inc. (NYSE:HOG) have received a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the eight brokerages that are covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and four have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month price target among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $42.57.

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. UBS Group reduced their target price on Harley-Davidson from $40.00 to $35.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. Citigroup decreased their target price on Harley-Davidson from $39.00 to $34.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, October 25th. Robert W. Baird downgraded shares of Harley-Davidson from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their price target for the stock from $44.00 to $40.00 in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. StockNews.com cut shares of Harley-Davidson from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Friday, November 8th. Finally, Bank of America cut their price objective on shares of Harley-Davidson from $50.00 to $45.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, October 15th.

Insider Transactions at Harley-Davidson

In other news, Director Maryrose Sylvester sold 4,278 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 $570,405.75. The trade was a 19.48 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.87% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Harley-Davidson

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in HOG. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in shares of Harley-Davidson by 19.0% in the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,008 shares of the company’s stock valued at $67,000 after purchasing an additional 320 shares during the period. Fifth Third Bancorp boosted its holdings in Harley-Davidson by 19.5% in the 2nd quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 1,970 shares of the company’s stock worth $66,000 after buying an additional 322 shares during the last quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank increased its stake in Harley-Davidson by 0.7% during the 1st quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 51,975 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,273,000 after buying an additional 345 shares in the last quarter. MML Investors Services LLC raised its holdings in shares of Harley-Davidson by 4.7% during the third quarter. MML Investors Services LLC now owns 8,430 shares of the company’s stock valued at $325,000 after acquiring an additional 379 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Covestor Ltd raised its holdings in shares of Harley-Davidson by 14.7% during the third quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 3,505 shares of the company’s stock valued at $135,000 after acquiring an additional 448 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.10% of the company’s stock.

Harley-Davidson Trading Up 0.8 %

NYSE:HOG opened at $32.90 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $4.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.41, a PEG ratio of 0.43 and a beta of 1.46. The company has a current ratio of 1.41, a quick ratio of 1.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.38. Harley-Davidson has a 12 month low of $29.34 and a 12 month high of $44.16. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $35.09 and a 200-day simple moving average of $35.16.

Harley-Davidson declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase program on Thursday, July 25th that permits the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to buy up to 19.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are typically an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Harley-Davidson Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 27th. Investors of record on Monday, September 16th were given a dividend of $0.1725 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 16th. This represents a $0.69 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.10%. Harley-Davidson’s dividend payout ratio 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.