Harley-Davidson, Inc. (NYSE:HOG) Stock Has Consensus Price Target of $28.20

Key Points

• Analysts have a consensus “Hold” rating on Harley-Davidson, with six buys, four holds, two sells and one strong buy. The average 12-month price target is $28.20, modestly above the stock’s $27.43 opening price.
• Harley-Davidson exceeded quarterly expectations, reporting $0.75 in EPS versus the $0.65 consensus and revenue of $1.23 billion versus $1.17 billion expected. However, revenue declined 5.9% year over year.
• The company maintains a quarterly dividend of $0.1875, or $0.75 annualized, representing a 2.7% yield. Insider activity was net positive over the past 90 days, with executives purchasing substantially more shares than they sold.

Shares of Harley-Davidson, Inc. (NYSE:HOG - Get Free Report) have received an average recommendation of "Hold" from the thirteen ratings firms that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average 12-month price objective among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $28.20.

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on HOG shares. Griffin Securities set a $33.00 price target on Harley-Davidson in a research report on Monday, August 17th. Citigroup upgraded Harley-Davidson from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and increased their price objective for the company from $31.00 to $33.00 in a report on Monday, October 5th. Weiss Ratings cut Harley-Davidson from a "hold (c)" rating to a "hold (c-)" rating in a research report on Thursday. Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on Harley-Davidson from $28.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, July 24th. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on Harley-Davidson from $15.00 to $17.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 28th.

Harley-Davidson Trading Up 2.0%

NYSE HOG opened at $27.43 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.70, a current ratio of 1.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36. The firm has a market cap of $2.85 billion, a PE ratio of 16.83, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 8.84 and a beta of 1.30. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $26.79 and a 200 day moving average price of $25.12. Harley-Davidson has a 52 week low of $17.09 and a 52 week high of $28.86.

Harley-Davidson (NYSE:HOG - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, July 23rd. The company reported $0.75 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.65 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $1.23 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations 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 for the quarter was down 5.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.88 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Harley-Davidson will post 0.56 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Harley-Davidson Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 29th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 15th were issued a $0.1875 dividend. This represents a $0.75 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, September 15th. Harley-Davidson's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 46.01%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Daniel J. Nova bought 40,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 purchase, the director directly owned 47,605 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,169,654.85. This trade represents a 525.97% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Jonathan R. Root sold 1,559 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $24.43, for a total transaction of $38,086.37. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 24,733 shares in the company, valued at approximately $604,227.19. This represents a 5.93% decrease in their position. 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 acquired 57,500 shares of company stock worth $1,439,550 and have sold 4,667 shares worth $119,423. Insiders own 0.97% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Aberdeen Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Harley-Davidson in the 2nd quarter valued at $29,000. CX Institutional raised its stake in Harley-Davidson by 62.4% in the 3rd quarter. CX Institutional now owns 1,445 shares of the company's stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 555 shares during the last quarter. Pinnacle Holdings LLC purchased a new position in Harley-Davidson in the 2nd quarter worth $36,000. Versant Capital Management Inc raised its stake in Harley-Davidson by 858.2% in the 2nd quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 1,629 shares of the company's stock worth $40,000 after acquiring an additional 1,459 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Johnson Financial Group Inc. acquired a new stake in Harley-Davidson during the 2nd quarter worth about $59,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.10% of the company's stock.

About Harley-Davidson

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.

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