Harley-Davidson (NYSE:HOG) Shares Climb 7.8% - Here's What Happened

Key Points

• Harley-Davidson shares rose 7.8% to approximately $26.48 in midday trading, despite trading volume running 79% below the average session level.
• Analyst sentiment remains mixed: the stock carries an average “Hold” rating and a $28.20 price target, while recent ratings included upgrades from Loop Capital and Evercore and a downgrade from Wall Street Zen.
• The company exceeded quarterly earnings and revenue expectations, reporting $0.75 in EPS and $1.23 billion in revenue, though revenue declined 5.9% year over year. Harley-Davidson also maintains a $0.75 annualized dividend, yielding about 2.8%.

Shares of Harley-Davidson, Inc. (NYSE:HOG - Get Free Report) rose 7.8% during mid-day trading on Monday. The company traded as high as $26.31 and last traded at $26.4760. 599,422 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 79% from the average session volume of 2,898,975 shares. The stock had previously closed at $24.55.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

HOG has been the topic of a number of research reports. Wall Street Zen downgraded Harley-Davidson from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Sunday, September 27th. Griffin Securities set a $33.00 price target on shares of Harley-Davidson in a research note on Monday, August 17th. Loop Capital raised Harley-Davidson from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $32.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Monday, July 20th. Evercore upgraded shares of Harley-Davidson from an "underperform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $33.00 price target on the stock in a report on Monday. Finally, UBS Group upped their price objective on Harley-Davidson from $26.00 to $28.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 2nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have assigned a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $28.20.

Harley-Davidson Trading Up 10.1%

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a quick ratio of 1.70 and a current ratio of 1.90. The firm has a market cap of $2.81 billion, a PE ratio of 16.54, a PEG ratio of 8.07 and a beta of 1.30. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $26.56 and its 200 day simple moving average is $24.73.

Harley-Davidson (NYSE:HOG - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 23rd. The company reported $0.75 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.65 by $0.10. Harley-Davidson had a net margin of 4.78% and a return on equity of 6.28%. The firm had revenue of $1.23 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.17 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.88 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was down 5.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Harley-Davidson, Inc. will post 0.56 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Harley-Davidson Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 29th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 15th were paid a dividend of $0.1875 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, September 15th. This represents a $0.75 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.8%. Harley-Davidson's payout ratio is 46.01%.

Insider Transactions at Harley-Davidson

In other news, CFO Jonathan Root sold 1,554 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $27.46, for a total transaction of $42,672.84. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 26,292 shares in the company, valued at approximately $721,978.32. This represents a 5.58% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CAO Gayle Littleton acquired 7,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 11th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $26.38 per share, for a total transaction of $197,850.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief accounting officer owned 7,500 shares in the company, valued at $197,850. This represents a ∞ increase in their position. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have bought a total of 57,500 shares of company stock valued at $1,439,550 over the last quarter. 0.97% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Harley-Davidson

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. BlackRock Inc. bought a new stake in Harley-Davidson in the second quarter worth $249,395,000. Donald Smith & CO. Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Harley-Davidson in the second quarter worth about $226,966,000. Bank of America Corp DE bought a new stake in shares of Harley-Davidson in the 2nd quarter valued at about $45,065,000. Aegis Financial Corp purchased a new stake in Harley-Davidson during the 1st quarter valued at about $27,681,000. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Harley-Davidson during the 4th quarter valued at about $25,766,000. 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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