Harley-Davidson (NYSE:HOG) Lowered to Sell Rating by StockNews.com

StockNews.com cut shares of Harley-Davidson (NYSE:HOG) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a research report report published on Tuesday.

Other equities analysts have also issued reports about the stock. Bank of America cut their target price on shares of Harley-Davidson from $50.00 to $45.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, October 15th. Citigroup decreased their price objective on shares of Harley-Davidson from $39.00 to $34.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Robert W. Baird cut Harley-Davidson from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their target price for the company from $44.00 to $40.00 in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Baird R W cut Harley-Davidson from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Finally, UBS Group dropped their price objective on Harley-Davidson from $40.00 to $35.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, November 7th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Harley-Davidson presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $42.57.

Harley-Davidson Price Performance

Shares of HOG opened at $32.70 on Tuesday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $34.97 and its two-hundred day moving average is $35.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.38, a quick ratio of 1.25 and a current ratio of 1.41. The company has a market capitalization of $4.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.36, a P/E/G ratio of 0.44 and a beta of 1.46. Harley-Davidson has a fifty-two week low of $29.67 and a fifty-two week high of $44.16.

Harley-Davidson Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 27th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 16th were issued a dividend of $0.1725 per share. This represents a $0.69 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.11%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 16th. Harley-Davidson’s payout ratio is 15.54%.

Harley-Davidson declared that its board has authorized a stock buyback program on Thursday, July 25th that allows the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to repurchase up to 19.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are usually an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Harley-Davidson news, Director Maryrose Sylvester sold 4,278 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $32.25, for a total transaction of $137,965.50. Following the transaction, the director now owns 17,687 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $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 SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.87% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

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

About Harley-Davidson

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.