Harley-Davidson (NYSE:HOG) Hits New 12-Month High – Should You Buy?

Harley-Davidson, Inc. (NYSE:HOG) hit a new 52-week high on Wednesday. The company traded as high as $34.65 and last traded at $34.3910, with a volume of 111,112 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $33.32.

Analyst Ratings Changes

HOG has been the topic of several research reports. Wall Street Zen lowered Harley-Davidson from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday, October 31st. Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on shares of Harley-Davidson from $28.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, July 24th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Harley-Davidson from $20.00 to $25.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Friday, October 30th. Evercore raised shares of Harley-Davidson from an “underperform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $33.00 target price on the stock in a report on Monday, October 5th. Finally, UBS Group increased their target price on shares of Harley-Davidson from $26.00 to $28.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 2nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have assigned a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $29.91.

Harley-Davidson Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a quick ratio of 1.77 and a current ratio of 1.97. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.39 billion, a P/E ratio of -30.48, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 8.88 and a beta of 1.29. The business has a fifty day moving average of $27.64 and a 200-day moving average of $24.21.

Harley-Davidson (NYSE:HOG) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, October 29th. The company reported $0.40 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.47 by ($0.07). Harley-Davidson had a negative net margin of 3.31% and a negative return on equity of 4.26%. The business had revenue of $1.08 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.07 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $3.10 EPS. The firm’s revenue was down 19.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Harley-Davidson, Inc. will post 0.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Harley-Davidson Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 29th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 15th were paid a dividend of $0.1875 per share. This represents a $0.75 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.3%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, September 15th. Harley-Davidson’s payout ratio is currently -70.09%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Harley-Davidson

In other news, CFO Jonathan R. Root sold 1,559 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $24.43, for a total value of $38,086.37. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 24,733 shares in the company, valued at $604,227.19. This trade represents a 5.93% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CAO Gayle Littleton acquired 7,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 11th. The shares were bought at an average price of $26.38 per share, for a total transaction of $197,850.00. Following the purchase, the chief accounting officer directly owned 7,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $197,850. This trade represents a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. 0.97% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Harley-Davidson

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Harley-Davidson in the 2nd quarter worth $249,395,000. Donald Smith & CO. Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Harley-Davidson during the second quarter valued at $226,966,000. Bank of America Corp DE purchased a new stake in shares of Harley-Davidson during the second quarter valued at $45,065,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Harley-Davidson by 8.4% during the first quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 2,110,552 shares of the company’s stock valued at $42,675,000 after purchasing an additional 163,762 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Aegis Financial Corp acquired a new position in shares of Harley-Davidson in the 1st quarter valued at $27,681,000. 85.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Harley-Davidson

Harley-Davidson, Inc is a Milwaukee-based company that designs, manufactures and sells heavyweight motorcycles. Its product portfolio includes touring, cruiser, standard and adventure-touring motorcycles sold under the Harley-Davidson brand, as well as electric motorcycles offered through its LiveWire business.

The company also provides motorcycle parts, accessories, apparel and related merchandise. Through Harley-Davidson Financial Services, it offers financing and insurance products to motorcycle dealers and retail customers in supported markets.