Harley-Davidson, Inc. (NYSE:HOG) Short Interest Update

Harley-Davidson, Inc. (NYSE:HOG) was the recipient of a large decrease in short interest during the month of October. As of October 15th, there was short interest totalling 9,420,000 shares, a decrease of 9.2% from the September 30th total of 10,370,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 1,840,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 5.1 days. Currently, 7.2% of the company’s stock are sold short.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently weighed in on the company. Robert W. Baird lowered Harley-Davidson from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $44.00 to $40.00 in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Citigroup dropped their price target on Harley-Davidson from $39.00 to $34.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Baird R W downgraded shares of Harley-Davidson from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Bank of America lowered their target price on shares of Harley-Davidson from $50.00 to $45.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, October 15th. Finally, UBS Group raised their price target on shares of Harley-Davidson from $39.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, August 23rd. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $43.29.

Harley-Davidson Stock Performance

Shares of HOG stock traded down $0.06 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $31.89. The stock had a trading volume of 132,280 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,735,734. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.20 billion, a PE ratio of 7.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.41 and a beta of 1.44. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $36.20 and a 200-day simple moving average of $35.54. Harley-Davidson has a twelve month low of $26.35 and a twelve month high of $44.16. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.38, a current ratio of 1.41 and a quick ratio of 1.25.

Harley-Davidson announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock repurchase plan on Thursday, July 25th that allows the company to buyback $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to buy up to 19.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are generally a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are 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 given a dividend of $0.1725 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 16th. This represents a $0.69 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.16%. Harley-Davidson’s dividend payout ratio is presently 15.54%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in HOG. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Harley-Davidson by 3.5% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 13,428,716 shares of the company’s stock valued at $587,372,000 after acquiring an additional 452,536 shares in the last quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund raised its stake in shares of Harley-Davidson by 42.7% in the 1st 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 in the last quarter. LSV Asset Management lifted its holdings in shares of Harley-Davidson by 17.3% in the second quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 5,705,775 shares of the company’s stock valued at $191,372,000 after buying an additional 842,407 shares during the period. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co grew its holdings in Harley-Davidson by 33.3% during the first quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co now owns 124,965 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,468,000 after acquiring an additional 31,205 shares during the period. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC raised its position in Harley-Davidson by 19.0% in the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,008 shares of the company’s stock worth $67,000 after acquiring an additional 320 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.10% of the company’s stock.

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.