Harley-Davidson Sees Unusually High Options Volume (NYSE:HOG)

Harley-Davidson, Inc. (NYSE:HOG) saw unusually large options trading on Tuesday. Stock traders bought 6,626 call options on the company. This represents an increase of 110% compared to the typical daily volume of 3,156 call options.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Harley-Davidson news, insider Luke Christopher Mansfield sold 3,400 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $25.96, for a total transaction of $88,264.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 23,555 shares in the company, valued at $611,487.80. This represents a 12.61 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 0.87% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its stake in shares of Harley-Davidson by 3,514.8% during the 1st quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 976 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 949 shares during the last quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in Harley-Davidson by 172.0% during the fourth quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 876 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 554 shares during the last quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. boosted its position in Harley-Davidson by 237.9% during the fourth quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 1,301 shares of the company’s stock worth $39,000 after acquiring an additional 916 shares during the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. acquired a new position in Harley-Davidson in the 4th quarter valued at $42,000. Finally, Global Retirement Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Harley-Davidson by 84.3% during the fourth quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 1,850 shares of the company’s stock worth $56,000 after purchasing an additional 846 shares during the last quarter. 85.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Harley-Davidson Trading Up 13.9 %

NYSE HOG opened at $23.72 on Thursday. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $25.34 and its 200 day moving average price is $29.90. Harley-Davidson has a 12 month low of $20.45 and a 12 month high of $42.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41, a current ratio of 1.40 and a quick ratio of 1.19. The company has a market capitalization of $2.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.38 and a beta of 1.28.

Harley-Davidson (NYSE:HOG) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The company reported ($0.93) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 business posted $0.18 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Harley-Davidson will post 3.44 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Harley-Davidson Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 28th were given a dividend of $0.18 per share. This is a positive change from Harley-Davidson’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.17. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.04%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 28th. Harley-Davidson’s dividend payout ratio is presently 21.62%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on HOG shares. Citigroup decreased their target price on Harley-Davidson from $29.00 to $28.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Robert W. Baird decreased their price objective on Harley-Davidson from $32.00 to $26.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 4th. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on shares of Harley-Davidson from $33.00 to $31.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. UBS Group decreased their price target on shares of Harley-Davidson from $35.00 to $28.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 20th. Finally, Bank of America dropped their price objective on shares of Harley-Davidson from $40.00 to $35.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $32.00.

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.