Harley-Davidson (NYSE:HOG) Stock Price Down 5.8% – Time to Sell?

Harley-Davidson, Inc. (NYSE:HOG)’s stock price fell 5.8% on Thursday . The company traded as low as $31.88 and last traded at $32.15. 2,122,965 shares traded hands during trading, an increase of 23% from the average session volume of 1,729,971 shares. The stock had previously closed at $34.13.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have weighed in on HOG. Bank of America reduced their price target on Harley-Davidson from $50.00 to $45.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, October 15th. Baird R W downgraded Harley-Davidson from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Robert W. Baird downgraded Harley-Davidson from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their price target for the stock from $44.00 to $40.00 in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. UBS Group upped their price target on Harley-Davidson from $39.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, August 23rd. Finally, Citigroup dropped their price objective on Harley-Davidson from $39.00 to $34.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $43.29.

Harley-Davidson Stock Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $4.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.48, a P/E/G ratio of 1.59 and a beta of 1.44. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $36.54 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $35.78. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.44, a current ratio of 1.50 and a quick ratio of 1.32.

Harley-Davidson (NYSE:HOG) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The company reported $0.91 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.82 by $0.09. Harley-Davidson had a return on equity of 20.33% and a net margin of 11.92%. The business had revenue of $881.21 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $970.25 million. On average, research analysts predict that Harley-Davidson, Inc. will post 4.03 EPS for the current year.

Harley-Davidson Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 27th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 16th were paid a $0.1725 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 16th. This represents a $0.69 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.17%. Harley-Davidson’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 14.05%.

Harley-Davidson declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback plan on Thursday, July 25th that authorizes the company to buyback $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to reacquire up to 19.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are typically an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Future Financial Wealth Managment LLC bought a new stake in Harley-Davidson during the first quarter worth $39,000. Signaturefd LLC grew its position in Harley-Davidson by 46.8% during the second quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 1,872 shares of the company’s stock worth $63,000 after buying an additional 597 shares in the last quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp grew its position in Harley-Davidson by 19.5% during the second quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 1,970 shares of the company’s stock worth $66,000 after buying an additional 322 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Harley-Davidson by 19.0% in the 2nd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,008 shares of the company’s stock worth $67,000 after purchasing an additional 320 shares in the last quarter. Finally, DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale boosted its holdings in shares of Harley-Davidson by 191.3% in the 2nd quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale now owns 3,999 shares of the company’s stock worth $133,000 after purchasing an additional 2,626 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.10% of the company’s stock.

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.