Harley-Davidson (NYSE:HOG) Authorizes Share Repurchase Program

Harley-Davidson (NYSE:HOG) declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase plan on Thursday, July 25th, RTT News reports. The company plans to buyback $1.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to repurchase up to 19.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are typically an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

HOG has been the subject of several analyst reports. Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on Harley-Davidson from $40.00 to $44.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday. Citigroup lowered their price objective on Harley-Davidson from $36.00 to $34.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, June 12th. BMO Capital Markets lowered their price objective on Harley-Davidson from $50.00 to $45.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 26th. Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on Harley-Davidson in a research note on Tuesday, April 23rd. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $50.00 price objective for the company. Finally, DA Davidson raised their price objective on Harley-Davidson from $42.00 to $49.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $45.14.

Harley-Davidson Stock Up 1.5 %

Shares of NYSE:HOG traded up $0.58 on Tuesday, reaching $38.38. The company had a trading volume of 2,109,006 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,744,667. Harley-Davidson has a 52-week low of $25.43 and a 52-week high of $44.16. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $34.35 and its 200-day simple moving average is $36.43. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.16 billion, a PE ratio of 8.53, a PEG ratio of 1.16 and a beta of 1.46. 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 results on Thursday, July 25th. The company reported $1.63 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.40 by $0.23. Harley-Davidson had a return on equity of 20.33% and a net margin of 11.92%. The business had revenue of $1.62 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.29 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.22 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 12.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts expect that Harley-Davidson will post 4.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Harley-Davidson Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 21st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, June 5th were issued a $0.1725 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, June 5th. This represents a $0.69 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.80%. Harley-Davidson’s dividend payout ratio is presently 15.33%.

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.