Harley-Davidson (NYSE:HOG) Now Covered by Morgan Stanley

Morgan Stanley started coverage on shares of Harley-Davidson (NYSE:HOG - Free Report) in a research report report published on Tuesday morning, MarketBeat.com reports. The brokerage issued an overweight rating and a $50.00 target price on the stock.

A number of other equities analysts have also recently weighed in on the stock. UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of Harley-Davidson from $29.00 to $39.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a research report on Friday, February 16th. Citigroup boosted their price objective on shares of Harley-Davidson from $36.00 to $37.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 27th. Bank of America boosted their price objective on shares of Harley-Davidson from $50.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research report on Thursday, March 14th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on shares of Harley-Davidson from $45.00 to $50.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Finally, DA Davidson boosted their price objective on shares of Harley-Davidson from $42.00 to $49.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Harley-Davidson presently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $47.14.

Harley-Davidson Trading Up 1.9 %

HOG traded up $0.75 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $39.74. 2,139,690 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,664,697. The company's fifty day moving average price is $39.86 and its 200-day moving average price is $34.81. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.53, a quick ratio of 1.25 and a current ratio of 1.53. Harley-Davidson has a fifty-two week low of $25.43 and a fifty-two week high of $44.16. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.35 billion, a PE ratio of 8.24, a P/E/G ratio of 2.50 and a beta of 1.43.

Harley-Davidson (NYSE:HOG - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 8th. The company reported $0.18 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.04 by $0.14. Harley-Davidson had a net margin of 12.11% and a return on equity of 22.00%. The firm had revenue of $791.65 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $875.29 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.28 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was down 13.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Harley-Davidson will post 4.19 EPS for the current year.

Harley-Davidson Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 20th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 4th were given a dividend of $0.1725 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 1st. This is a boost from Harley-Davidson's previous quarterly dividend of $0.17. This represents a $0.69 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.74%. Harley-Davidson's payout ratio is 14.32%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of HOG. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Harley-Davidson during the 4th quarter worth about $51,860,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its stake in shares of Harley-Davidson by 15.1% during the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 5,241,888 shares of the company's stock worth $193,115,000 after purchasing an additional 689,363 shares during the last quarter. Boston Partners increased its stake in shares of Harley-Davidson by 10.1% during the 4th quarter. Boston Partners now owns 7,206,167 shares of the company's stock worth $265,398,000 after purchasing an additional 659,654 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Harley-Davidson by 917.7% during the 3rd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 669,028 shares of the company's stock worth $22,118,000 after purchasing an additional 603,286 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Harley-Davidson by 47.8% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,269,057 shares of the company's stock worth $41,955,000 after purchasing an additional 410,648 shares during the last quarter. 85.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Harley-Davidson Company Profile

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.