Harley-Davidson (NYSE:HOG) Cut to “Sell” at StockNews.com

StockNews.com downgraded shares of Harley-Davidson (NYSE:HOG) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a research note published on Friday morning.

A number of other research firms have also recently weighed in on HOG. Robert W. Baird cut shares of Harley-Davidson from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their target price for the company from $44.00 to $40.00 in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. Baird R W lowered Harley-Davidson from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. UBS Group decreased their target price on Harley-Davidson from $40.00 to $35.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday. Bank of America dropped their price target on Harley-Davidson from $50.00 to $45.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, October 15th. Finally, Citigroup decreased their price objective on Harley-Davidson from $39.00 to $34.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, October 25th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $42.57.

Harley-Davidson Trading Down 0.9 %

NYSE HOG opened at $32.92 on Friday. The business’s fifty day moving average is $35.56 and its 200-day moving average is $35.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.38, a current ratio of 1.41 and a quick ratio of 1.25. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.41, a PEG ratio of 0.42 and a beta of 1.46. Harley-Davidson has a one year low of $26.35 and a one year high of $44.16.

Harley-Davidson announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase program on Thursday, July 25th that permits the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to purchase up to 19.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are usually an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Harley-Davidson Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 27th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 16th were issued a dividend of $0.1725 per share. This represents a $0.69 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.10%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 16th. Harley-Davidson’s payout ratio is presently 15.54%.

Insider Activity

In other Harley-Davidson news, Director Maryrose Sylvester sold 4,278 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $32.25, for a total value of $137,965.50. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 17,687 shares in the company, valued at $570,405.75. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.87% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Harley-Davidson

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Prospera Private Wealth LLC bought a new position in Harley-Davidson in the 3rd quarter worth about $35,000. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC bought a new position in shares of Harley-Davidson in the third quarter worth approximately $38,000. Signaturefd LLC raised its stake in Harley-Davidson by 46.8% in the second quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 1,872 shares of the company’s stock valued at $63,000 after purchasing an additional 597 shares in the last quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp lifted its position in Harley-Davidson by 19.5% during the second quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 1,970 shares of the company’s stock valued at $66,000 after purchasing an additional 322 shares during the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake in Harley-Davidson by 19.0% in the 2nd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,008 shares of the company’s stock worth $67,000 after buying an additional 320 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.10% of the company’s stock.

About Harley-Davidson

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.