Harley-Davidson (NYSE:HOG) Stock Rating Upgraded by StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Harley-Davidson (NYSE:HOG – Get Rating) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research report sent to investors on Monday.

Several other equities analysts have also recently issued reports on the company. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on Harley-Davidson from $48.00 to $50.00 and gave the company an equal weight rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 1st. Citigroup set a $49.00 target price on Harley-Davidson in a research report on Wednesday, November 23rd. DA Davidson raised their target price on Harley-Davidson from $44.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a research report on Monday, February 6th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on Harley-Davidson in a research report on Tuesday, November 15th. They set an underperform rating and a $39.00 target price on the stock. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $49.38.

Harley-Davidson Stock Performance

Shares of HOG opened at $38.67 on Monday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $45.86 and a 200-day simple moving average of $43.12. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.53, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a current ratio of 1.34. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.65 billion, a PE ratio of 7.78, a PEG ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 1.39. Harley-Davidson has a 1 year low of $29.80 and a 1 year high of $51.77.

Harley-Davidson (NYSE:HOG – Get Rating) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 2nd. The company reported $0.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.07 by $0.21. The business had revenue of $918.70 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $910.04 million. Harley-Davidson had a return on equity of 27.23% and a net margin of 13.35%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 14.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.15 EPS. On average, analysts predict that Harley-Davidson will post 4.68 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Harley-Davidson Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 3rd will be given a dividend of $0.165 per share. This is a positive change from Harley-Davidson’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.16. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 2nd. This represents a $0.66 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.71%. Harley-Davidson’s payout ratio is 13.28%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Harley-Davidson news, SVP Jonathan R. Root sold 2,239 shares of Harley-Davidson stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.17, for a total transaction of $112,330.63. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 5,474 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $274,630.58. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 0.62% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. TD Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Harley-Davidson during the third quarter worth approximately $26,000. Lazard Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Harley-Davidson in the first quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Ellevest Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Harley-Davidson by 327.2% in the third quarter. Ellevest Inc. now owns 1,115 shares of the company’s stock valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 854 shares during the period. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. increased its holdings in shares of Harley-Davidson by 1,144.1% in the first quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. now owns 1,381 shares of the company’s stock valued at $54,000 after purchasing an additional 1,270 shares during the period. Finally, Covestor Ltd increased its holdings in shares of Harley-Davidson by 74.7% in the first quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 1,660 shares of the company’s stock valued at $65,000 after purchasing an additional 710 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.96% of the company’s stock.

About Harley-Davidson

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Harley-Davidson, Inc is engaged in the manufacture and sale of custom, cruiser, and touring motorcycles. It operates through the following segments: Motorcycles & Related Products and Financial Services. The Motorcycles & Related Products segment manufactures, designs, and sells at wholesale on-road Harley-Davidson motorcycles as well as motorcycle parts, accessories, general merchandise, and related services.