Harley-Davidson (NYSE:HOG) Sets New 12-Month High at $44.16

Shares of Harley-Davidson, Inc. (NYSE:HOG) reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $44.16 and last traded at $44.01, with a volume of 35954 shares. The stock had previously closed at $43.66.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

HOG has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. DA Davidson reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $42.00 price target on shares of Harley-Davidson in a research note on Tuesday, March 5th. Bank of America upped their target price on shares of Harley-Davidson from $50.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, March 14th. UBS Group raised their price target on shares of Harley-Davidson from $29.00 to $39.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, February 16th. Finally, Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of Harley-Davidson from $36.00 to $37.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 27th. 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 MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $44.67.

Harley-Davidson Stock Up 0.3 %

The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $37.39 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $33.73. The company has a market capitalization of $5.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 1.41. The company has a current ratio of 1.53, a quick ratio of 1.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.53.

Harley-Davidson (NYSE:HOG) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 8th. The company reported $0.18 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.04 by $0.14. Harley-Davidson had a return on equity of 22.00% and a net margin of 12.11%. The company had revenue of $791.65 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $875.29 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.28 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 13.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Harley-Davidson, Inc. will post 4.22 EPS for the current year.

Harley-Davidson Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 20th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 4th were given a dividend of $0.1725 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 1st. This is a boost from Harley-Davidson’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.17. This represents a $0.69 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.58%. Harley-Davidson’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 14.32%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. BlackRock Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Harley-Davidson by 1.5% in the 1st quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 12,727,257 shares of the company’s stock valued at $501,454,000 after buying an additional 194,089 shares during the period. Beutel Goodman & Co Ltd. lifted its position in shares of Harley-Davidson by 2.2% during the second quarter. Beutel Goodman & Co Ltd. now owns 7,659,467 shares of the company’s stock worth $269,689,000 after purchasing an additional 166,961 shares in the last quarter. Boston Partners boosted its stake in shares of Harley-Davidson by 10.1% in the fourth quarter. Boston Partners now owns 7,206,167 shares of the company’s stock valued at $265,398,000 after purchasing an additional 659,654 shares during the period. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of Harley-Davidson by 0.4% in the third quarter. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. now owns 5,355,504 shares of the company’s stock valued at $177,053,000 after purchasing an additional 22,595 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its stake in Harley-Davidson by 15.1% during the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 5,241,888 shares of the company’s stock worth $193,115,000 after buying an additional 689,363 shares during the period. 85.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.