Donald Smith & CO. Inc. Raises Stock Position in Harley-Davidson, Inc. $HOG

Donald Smith & CO. Inc. boosted its position in shares of Harley-Davidson, Inc. (NYSE:HOG) by 30.8% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 8,899,204 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,095,477 shares during the quarter. Harley-Davidson makes up about 3.4% of Donald Smith & CO. Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 9th biggest position. Donald Smith & CO. Inc. owned 0.08% of Harley-Davidson worth $182,345,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. boosted its position in Harley-Davidson by 62.1% in the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 86,436 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,183,000 after buying an additional 33,097 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC boosted its position in Harley-Davidson by 18.3% in the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 17,560 shares of the company’s stock valued at $443,000 after buying an additional 2,712 shares during the period. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. boosted its position in Harley-Davidson by 153.8% in the 1st quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 2,109 shares of the company’s stock valued at $53,000 after buying an additional 1,278 shares during the period. Federated Hermes Inc. boosted its position in Harley-Davidson by 32.8% in the 2nd quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 16,076 shares of the company’s stock valued at $379,000 after buying an additional 3,967 shares during the period. Finally, California Public Employees Retirement System boosted its position in Harley-Davidson by 12.0% in the 2nd quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System now owns 204,156 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,818,000 after buying an additional 21,913 shares during the period. 85.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Harley-Davidson

In other news, CFO Jonathan R. Root sold 1,554 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $24.21, for a total value of $37,622.34. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 32,508 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $787,018.68. This represents a 4.56% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Paul J. Krause sold 1,564 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $26.00, for a total transaction of $40,664.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 30,012 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $780,312. The trade was a 4.95% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. 0.97% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Harley-Davidson Price Performance

Shares of HOG opened at $24.62 on Thursday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $23.58 and a 200-day moving average price of $21.58. Harley-Davidson, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $17.09 and a fifty-two week high of $31.25. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.59 billion, a PE ratio of 13.99, a PEG ratio of 15.47 and a beta of 1.26. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37, a quick ratio of 1.66 and a current ratio of 1.91.

Harley-Davidson (NYSE:HOG) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The company reported $0.22 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.34 by ($0.12). Harley-Davidson had a return on equity of 7.03% and a net margin of 5.68%.The business had revenue of $1.17 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.01 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.07 EPS. Harley-Davidson’s revenue for the quarter was down 11.7% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts predict that Harley-Davidson, Inc. will post 0.39 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Harley-Davidson Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 25th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 8th will be given a $0.1875 dividend. This represents a $0.75 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 8th. Harley-Davidson’s dividend payout ratio is presently 42.61%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have issued reports on HOG. Zacks Research raised shares of Harley-Davidson from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, April 27th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of Harley-Davidson from $12.00 to $15.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 19th. Robert W. Baird set a $28.00 price objective on shares of Harley-Davidson in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Harley-Davidson from $19.00 to $26.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, May 11th. Finally, Weiss Ratings cut shares of Harley-Davidson from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 3rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have given a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Harley-Davidson has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $24.22.

Harley-Davidson Profile

Harley-Davidson, Inc is a renowned American motorcycle manufacturer best known for its heavyweight cruiser and touring bikes. Founded in 1903 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, the company has built a strong reputation for producing distinctive motorcycles characterized by their signature V-twin engines, chrome finishes and robust frames. Harley-Davidson markets its products globally through a network of franchised dealerships and focuses on delivering an immersive brand experience to its customers, emphasizing lifestyle and community alongside its motorcycles.

In addition to its core motorcycle business, Harley-Davidson offers an extensive range of parts, accessories and apparel under its Genuine Motor Parts & Accessories and MotorClothes lines.