Harley-Davidson (NYSE:HOG) Raised to Hold at Wall Street Zen

Key Points

• Wall Street Zen upgraded Harley-Davidson to “Hold” from “Sell,” bringing the consensus rating to “Hold” with an average price target of $27.44.
• Harley-Davidson reported quarterly EPS of $0.75, exceeding estimates of $0.65, while revenue reached $1.23 billion but declined 5.9% year over year.
• The stock opened at $25.93, down 2.1%, as insiders have been net buyers over the past 90 days and institutional investors own 85.1% of outstanding shares.

Harley-Davidson (NYSE:HOG - Get Free Report) was upgraded by equities researchers at Wall Street Zen from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note issued to investors on Saturday, Wall Street Zen reports.

Several other research analysts have also issued reports on HOG. Weiss Ratings raised Harley-Davidson from a "hold (c-)" rating to a "hold (c)" rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 11th. Robert W. Baird upped their price target on Harley-Davidson from $28.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, July 24th. Loop Capital upgraded Harley-Davidson from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $32.00 price objective for the company in a report on Monday, July 20th. Griffin Securities set a $33.00 price objective on Harley-Davidson in a research report on Monday, August 17th. Finally, Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of Harley-Davidson from $27.00 to $31.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, September 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have given a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Harley-Davidson has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $27.44.

Harley-Davidson Trading Down 2.1%

NYSE:HOG opened at $25.93 on Friday. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $26.83 and a 200-day moving average price of $24.22. The stock has a market cap of $2.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.91, a P/E/G ratio of 8.71 and a beta of 1.29. The company has a current ratio of 1.90, a quick ratio of 1.70 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 $29.88.

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Daniel Nova purchased 40,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 31st. The shares were bought at an average price of $24.57 per share, for a total transaction of $982,800.00. Following the purchase, the director directly owned 47,605 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,169,654.85. This trade represents a 525.97% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CFO Jonathan Root sold 1,554 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $27.46, for a total transaction of $42,672.84. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 26,292 shares in the company, valued at $721,978.32. This trade represents a 5.58% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last ninety days, insiders have bought 57,500 shares of company stock valued at $1,439,550 and have sold 4,662 shares valued at $119,316. 0.97% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Harley-Davidson

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Harley-Davidson in the second quarter worth $249,395,000. Donald Smith & CO. Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Harley-Davidson during the second quarter valued at $226,966,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its position in shares of Harley-Davidson by 8.4% during the first quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 2,110,552 shares of the company's stock valued at $42,675,000 after buying an additional 163,762 shares during the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE bought a new stake in Harley-Davidson in the 2nd quarter worth about $45,065,000. Finally, Aegis Financial Corp bought a new stake in Harley-Davidson in the 1st quarter worth about $27,681,000. 85.10% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Harley-Davidson

Harley-Davidson, Inc is a Milwaukee, Wisconsin-based motorcycle company founded in 1903. Through its Harley-Davidson Motor Company business, it designs, manufactures and sells heavyweight motorcycles known for their touring, cruiser and performance-oriented models. The company also markets motorcycle parts, accessories, riding gear, apparel and branded merchandise.

Harley-Davidson sells its products through a network of independently owned dealerships and other distribution channels in North America and international markets, including Europe, the Middle East, Africa, Asia-Pacific and Latin America.

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