Harley-Davidson (NYSE:HOG) Rating Lowered to Hold at Baird R W

Baird R W lowered shares of Harley-Davidson (NYSE:HOG) from a strong-buy rating to a hold rating in a research note released on Wednesday, Zacks.com reports.

Several other analysts have also recently commented on the stock. UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of Harley-Davidson from $39.00 to $40.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a research note on Friday, August 23rd. Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of Harley-Davidson from $37.00 to $39.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a research report on Thursday, September 19th. Finally, Robert W. Baird cut Harley-Davidson from an outperform rating to a neutral rating and lowered their price target for the stock from $44.00 to $40.00 in a report on Wednesday. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Harley-Davidson has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $45.43.

Harley-Davidson Stock Performance

NYSE HOG opened at $34.78 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.73, a PEG ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.44. The business’s 50 day moving average is $37.06 and its two-hundred day moving average is $36.67. Harley-Davidson has a 12-month low of $25.43 and a 12-month high of $44.16. The company has a current ratio of 1.50, a quick ratio of 1.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.44.

Harley-Davidson (NYSE:HOG) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 25th. The company reported $1.63 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.40 by $0.23. The firm had revenue of $1.62 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.29 billion. Harley-Davidson had a return on equity of 20.33% and a net margin of 11.92%. Harley-Davidson’s quarterly revenue was up 12.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.22 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that Harley-Davidson will post 4.32 EPS for the current year.

Harley-Davidson announced that its board has approved a share repurchase program on Thursday, July 25th that authorizes the company to buyback $1.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to buy up to 19.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are generally an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Harley-Davidson Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 27th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 16th were paid a dividend of $0.1725 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 16th. This represents a $0.69 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.98%. Harley-Davidson’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 15.33%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Harley-Davidson

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of HOG. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in Harley-Davidson by 3.5% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 13,428,716 shares of the company’s stock worth $587,372,000 after acquiring an additional 452,536 shares during the period. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund lifted its position in Harley-Davidson by 42.7% during the first quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund now owns 80,010 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,500,000 after buying an additional 23,958 shares during the period. Lighthouse Investment Partners LLC purchased a new position in Harley-Davidson during the fourth quarter worth about $1,133,000. LSV Asset Management boosted its stake in Harley-Davidson by 17.3% in the 2nd quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 5,705,775 shares of the company’s stock worth $191,372,000 after buying an additional 842,407 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co grew its holdings in Harley-Davidson by 33.3% in the 1st quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co now owns 124,965 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,468,000 after buying an additional 31,205 shares during the period. 85.10% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.