Harley-Davidson, Inc. (NYSE:HOG) Short Interest Up 32.6% in February

Harley-Davidson, Inc. (NYSE:HOG) saw a significant increase in short interest in the month of February. As of February 15th, there was short interest totalling 13,920,000 shares, an increase of 32.6% from the January 31st total of 10,500,000 shares. Currently, 11.0% of the shares of the stock are short sold. Based on an average trading volume of 1,830,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 7.6 days.

Harley-Davidson Price Performance

Harley-Davidson stock traded down $0.74 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $24.18. 2,920,069 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,763,467. The company has a market capitalization of $3.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.26, a P/E/G ratio of 0.38 and a beta of 1.46. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $27.77 and its 200-day simple moving average is $32.29. Harley-Davidson has a 1 year low of $23.86 and a 1 year high of $44.16. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41, a quick ratio of 1.19 and a current ratio of 1.40.

Harley-Davidson (NYSE:HOG) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The company reported ($0.93) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.65) by ($0.28). Harley-Davidson had a return on equity of 13.64% and a net margin of 9.25%. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.18 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that Harley-Davidson will post 3.44 EPS for the current year.

Harley-Davidson Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 28th will be issued a $0.18 dividend. This is a boost from Harley-Davidson’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.17. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 28th. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.98%. Harley-Davidson’s payout ratio is 21.62%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Harley-Davidson

In other news, insider Luke Christopher Mansfield sold 3,400 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $25.96, for a total value of $88,264.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 23,555 shares in the company, valued at $611,487.80. This trade represents a 12.61 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 0.87% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Harley-Davidson

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Mork Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Harley-Davidson in the 3rd quarter valued at about $1,926,000. Hussman Strategic Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in Harley-Davidson in the 4th quarter valued at about $1,898,000. Barclays PLC grew its holdings in Harley-Davidson by 135.7% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 282,932 shares of the company’s stock valued at $10,900,000 after buying an additional 162,899 shares during the period. Quantinno Capital Management LP grew its holdings in Harley-Davidson by 151.3% in the 3rd quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 50,475 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,945,000 after buying an additional 30,388 shares during the period. Finally, Quantbot Technologies LP grew its holdings in Harley-Davidson by 190.4% in the 3rd quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP now owns 172,258 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,637,000 after buying an additional 112,948 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.10% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. UBS Group dropped their price target on Harley-Davidson from $35.00 to $28.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 20th. Citigroup dropped their price target on Harley-Davidson from $31.00 to $29.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. DA Davidson dropped their price target on Harley-Davidson from $39.00 to $31.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on Harley-Davidson from $33.00 to $31.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Robert W. Baird dropped their price target on Harley-Davidson from $40.00 to $36.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, December 31st. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Harley-Davidson presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $33.57.

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.