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

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

A number of other equities analysts have also commented on the stock. Citigroup reduced their target price on shares of Harley-Davidson from $39.00 to $34.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Robert W. Baird lowered Harley-Davidson from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their target price for the company from $44.00 to $40.00 in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Bank of America dropped their price target 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. UBS Group cut their price target on Harley-Davidson from $40.00 to $35.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. Finally, Baird R W lowered shares of Harley-Davidson from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Harley-Davidson presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $42.57.

Harley-Davidson Trading Down 0.8 %

HOG stock opened at $32.70 on Tuesday. Harley-Davidson has a 12 month low of $29.67 and a 12 month high of $44.16. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $34.97 and its 200 day moving average is $35.14. The company has a market capitalization of $4.16 billion, a PE ratio of 7.36, a P/E/G ratio of 0.44 and a beta of 1.46. 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 declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase program on Thursday, July 25th that allows the company to buyback $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to repurchase up to 19.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are typically an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Harley-Davidson Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 27th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 16th were given a $0.1725 dividend. 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 currently 15.54%.

Insider Activity

In other Harley-Davidson news, Director Maryrose Sylvester sold 4,278 shares of the firm’s 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 owns 17,687 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $570,405.75. This trade represents a 19.48 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.87% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Harley-Davidson

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Pacer Advisors Inc. increased its stake in Harley-Davidson by 22,680.0% during the 3rd quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 4,182,864 shares of the company’s stock valued at $161,166,000 after purchasing an additional 4,164,502 shares in the last quarter. LSV Asset Management raised its stake in Harley-Davidson by 17.3% in the 2nd quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 5,705,775 shares of the company’s stock worth $191,372,000 after acquiring an additional 842,407 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its position in Harley-Davidson by 12.8% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 6,248,512 shares of the company’s stock worth $209,576,000 after acquiring an additional 708,260 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. grew its stake in Harley-Davidson by 42.8% during the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 2,263,919 shares of the company’s stock valued at $75,932,000 after purchasing an additional 678,092 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Harley-Davidson by 3.5% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 13,428,716 shares of the company’s stock valued at $587,372,000 after purchasing an additional 452,536 shares during the period. 85.10% of the stock is 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.