Harley-Davidson (NYSE:HOG) Upgraded at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Harley-Davidson (NYSE:HOG) from a sell rating to a hold rating in a report published on Saturday,Wall Street Zen reports.

A number of other analysts have also recently commented on the company. Griffin Securities set a $33.00 price target on Harley-Davidson in a research note on Monday, August 17th. Citigroup raised shares of Harley-Davidson from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $31.00 to $33.00 in a research note on Monday, October 5th. Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective on shares of Harley-Davidson from $28.00 to $30.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, July 24th. Evercore upgraded shares of Harley-Davidson from an “underperform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $33.00 price objective for the company in a report on Monday, October 5th. Finally, DA Davidson upped their target price on shares of Harley-Davidson from $30.00 to $33.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, August 17th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have given a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Harley-Davidson presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $28.20.

Harley-Davidson Stock Up 2.0%

NYSE:HOG opened at $27.43 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.70, a current ratio of 1.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36. Harley-Davidson has a 12-month low of $17.09 and a 12-month high of $28.86. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $26.79 and its 200-day simple moving average is $25.12. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.83, a P/E/G ratio of 8.84 and a beta of 1.30.

Harley-Davidson (NYSE:HOG) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 23rd. The company reported $0.75 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.65 by $0.10. Harley-Davidson had a return on equity of 6.28% and a net margin of 4.78%. The business had revenue of $1.23 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.17 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.88 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was down 5.9% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts expect that Harley-Davidson will post 0.56 earnings per share for the current year.

Harley-Davidson Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 29th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 15th were paid a $0.1875 dividend. This represents a $0.75 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, September 15th. Harley-Davidson’s payout ratio is presently 46.01%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Harley-Davidson news, Director Daniel Nova purchased 40,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, July 31st. The stock was bought at an average cost of $24.57 per share, for a total transaction of $982,800.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director directly owned 47,605 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,169,654.85. The trade was a 525.97% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Artie Starrs purchased 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, August 10th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $25.89 per share, with a total value of $258,900.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief executive officer directly owned 25,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $647,250. This represents a 66.67% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. In the last three months, insiders bought 57,500 shares of company stock valued at $1,439,550 and sold 4,667 shares valued at $119,423. Company insiders own 0.97% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Harley-Davidson

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of HOG. Aberdeen Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Harley-Davidson during the second quarter worth about $29,000. CX Institutional boosted its position in Harley-Davidson by 62.4% during the third quarter. CX Institutional now owns 1,445 shares of the company’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 555 shares during the last quarter. Pinnacle Holdings LLC bought a new position in Harley-Davidson in the second quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Versant Capital Management Inc grew its stake in Harley-Davidson by 858.2% in the second quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 1,629 shares of the company’s stock valued at $40,000 after purchasing an additional 1,459 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bessemer Group Inc. grew its stake in Harley-Davidson by 1,758.9% in the first quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 2,937 shares of the company’s stock valued at $59,000 after purchasing an additional 2,779 shares in the last quarter. 85.10% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Harley-Davidson Company Profile

Harley-Davidson, Inc is a motorcycle manufacturer headquartered in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Founded in 1903, the company designs, manufactures and sells heavyweight motorcycles known for their cruiser, touring and adventure-touring models, as well as related parts, accessories, apparel and merchandise.

The company markets its products under the Harley-Davidson brand through a network of independent dealers and company-operated retail locations. Its offerings serve customers in the United States and international markets across Europe, Asia-Pacific, Canada and other regions.

Harley-Davidson also provides motorcycle financing and insurance-related services through Harley-Davidson Financial Services.