Harley-Davidson, Inc. (NYSE:HOG) Stock Now Rated "Moderate Buy" by Wall Street Analysts

Key Points

• Analysts give Harley-Davidson a “Moderate Buy” consensus: Of 14 analysts, seven rate the stock a buy, one a strong buy, four a hold and two a sell. The average 12-month price target is $29.91.
• Recent broker actions were mixed but included upgrades and higher targets: Citigroup raised its target to $37 and DA Davidson to $33, both with buy ratings; Evercore upgraded the stock to outperform with a $33 target.
• In its latest quarter, Harley-Davidson reported EPS of $0.40, below the $0.47 consensus, while revenue of $1.08 billion slightly beat expectations. Revenue fell 19.3% year over year.

Shares of Harley-Davidson, Inc. (NYSE:HOG - Get Free Report) have received a consensus recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from the fourteen analysts that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, four have given a hold recommendation, seven have assigned a buy recommendation and one has given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month price target among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $29.91.

Several brokerages recently commented on HOG. DA Davidson increased their target price on shares of Harley-Davidson from $30.00 to $33.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, August 17th. Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of Harley-Davidson from $33.00 to $37.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, October 30th. Weiss Ratings raised Harley-Davidson from a "hold (c-)" rating to a "hold (c)" rating in a research note on Friday, October 23rd. Evercore upgraded Harley-Davidson from an "underperform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $33.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Monday, October 5th. Finally, Griffin Securities set a $33.00 price target on shares of Harley-Davidson in a report on Monday, August 17th.

Harley-Davidson Stock Performance

NYSE:HOG opened at $32.67 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 1.97 and a quick ratio of 1.77. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -30.53, a PEG ratio of 8.49 and a beta of 1.29. The company's 50-day moving average is $27.73 and its two-hundred day moving average is $24.27. Harley-Davidson has a 1-year low of $17.09 and a 1-year high of $34.84.

Harley-Davidson (NYSE:HOG - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 29th. The company reported $0.40 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.47 by ($0.07). Harley-Davidson had a negative net margin of 3.31% and a negative return on equity of 4.26%. The business had revenue of $1.08 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.07 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $3.10 EPS. Harley-Davidson's revenue for the quarter was down 19.3% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast that Harley-Davidson will post 0.69 EPS for the current year.

Harley-Davidson Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 29th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 15th were issued a dividend of $0.1875 per share. This represents a $0.75 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.3%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, September 15th. Harley-Davidson's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is -70.09%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Harley-Davidson

In other Harley-Davidson news, CFO Jonathan Root sold 1,559 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 1st. The shares were 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 of the company's stock, valued at $604,227.19. The trade was a 5.93% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CAO Gayle Littleton bought 7,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 11th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $26.38 per share, with a total value of $197,850.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 7,500 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $197,850. The trade was a ∞ increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. Insiders own 0.97% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Harley-Davidson

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Money Concepts Capital Corp raised its stake in shares of Harley-Davidson by 4.7% during the 3rd quarter. Money Concepts Capital Corp now owns 122,929 shares of the company's stock worth $3,003,000 after buying an additional 5,531 shares during the last quarter. Eurizon Capital SGR S.p.A. bought a new stake in Harley-Davidson in the 3rd quarter valued at about $26,000. Fifth Third Bancorp boosted its stake in Harley-Davidson by 147.2% during the third quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 62,035 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,516,000 after buying an additional 36,935 shares in the last quarter. Fulcrum Asset Management LLP acquired a new stake in shares of Harley-Davidson in the third quarter worth $152,000. Finally, Commonwealth Equity Services LLC lifted its stake in shares of Harley-Davidson by 12.0% in the 3rd quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 41,822 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,022,000 after purchasing an additional 4,481 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.10% of the company's stock.

About Harley-Davidson

Harley-Davidson, Inc is a Milwaukee-based company that designs, manufactures and sells heavyweight motorcycles. Its product portfolio includes touring, cruiser, standard and adventure-touring motorcycles sold under the Harley-Davidson brand, as well as electric motorcycles offered through its LiveWire business.

The company also provides motorcycle parts, accessories, apparel and related merchandise. Through Harley-Davidson Financial Services, it offers financing and insurance products to motorcycle dealers and retail customers in supported markets.

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