Harley-Davidson (NYSE:HOG) Sees Strong Trading Volume

Shares of Harley-Davidson, Inc. (NYSE:HOG) saw an uptick in trading volume on Thursday . 3,039,032 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 81% from the previous session’s volume of 1,679,107 shares.The stock last traded at $34.82 and had previously closed at $39.44.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

HOG has been the subject of several analyst reports. Bank of America upped their price objective on Harley-Davidson from $50.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 14th. Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on Harley-Davidson in a report on Tuesday. They set an “overweight” rating and a $50.00 price objective on the stock. UBS Group raised their target price on shares of Harley-Davidson from $29.00 to $39.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, February 16th. BMO Capital Markets increased 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 target price on shares of Harley-Davidson from $42.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 11th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Harley-Davidson has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $47.14.

Harley-Davidson Stock Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $4.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.61 and a beta of 1.43. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $39.97 and a 200 day moving average of $34.91. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.53, a current ratio of 1.53 and a quick ratio of 1.25.

Harley-Davidson (NYSE:HOG) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 8th. The company reported $0.18 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.04 by $0.14. Harley-Davidson had a return on equity of 22.00% and a net margin of 12.11%. 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. Harley-Davidson’s revenue for the quarter was down 13.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Harley-Davidson, Inc. will post 4.19 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Harley-Davidson Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 20th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 4th were issued a $0.1725 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 1st. This represents a $0.69 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.08%. This is a positive change from Harley-Davidson’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.17. Harley-Davidson’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 14.32%.

Institutional Trading of Harley-Davidson

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Boston Partners lifted its stake in Harley-Davidson by 10.1% during the fourth 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 in the last quarter. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. lifted its stake in Harley-Davidson by 0.4% during the 3rd quarter. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. now owns 5,355,504 shares of the company’s stock worth $177,053,000 after acquiring an additional 22,595 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its holdings in Harley-Davidson by 15.1% during the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 5,241,888 shares of the company’s stock valued at $193,115,000 after acquiring an additional 689,363 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its position in Harley-Davidson by 0.9% in the 3rd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,461,895 shares of the company’s stock valued at $48,330,000 after acquiring an additional 12,332 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Harley-Davidson during the fourth quarter worth about $51,860,000. 85.10% of the stock is 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.