Harley-Davidson, Inc. (NYSE:HOG) Sees Significant Drop in Short Interest

Harley-Davidson, Inc. (NYSE:HOG) saw a significant drop in short interest in the month of June. As of June 30th, there was short interest totalling 8,020,000 shares, a drop of 17.8% from the June 15th total of 9,760,000 shares. Currently, 6.0% of the shares of the stock are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 1,770,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 4.5 days.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Harley-Davidson

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its position in shares of Harley-Davidson by 19.0% during the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,008 shares of the company’s stock valued at $67,000 after acquiring an additional 320 shares during the last quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank increased its position in shares of Harley-Davidson by 0.7% during the 1st quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 51,975 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,273,000 after purchasing an additional 345 shares during the last quarter. US Bancorp DE increased its position in shares of Harley-Davidson by 2.2% during the 4th quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 16,023 shares of the company’s stock valued at $590,000 after purchasing an additional 346 shares during the last quarter. National Bank of Canada FI raised its stake in shares of Harley-Davidson by 22.3% during the 4th quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 2,054 shares of the company’s stock worth $74,000 after purchasing an additional 374 shares during the period. Finally, Quadrant Capital Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Harley-Davidson by 95.0% in the 4th quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 788 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 384 shares during the last quarter. 85.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Harley-Davidson Stock Up 1.1 %

HOG stock traded up $0.36 during trading on Friday, reaching $34.38. 1,430,139 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,370,703. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $34.20 and its 200 day moving average is $36.38. The firm has a market cap of $4.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.12 and a beta of 1.46. The company has a current ratio of 1.54, a quick ratio of 1.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.50. Harley-Davidson has a twelve month low of $25.43 and a twelve month high of $44.16.

Harley-Davidson (NYSE:HOG) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The company reported $1.72 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.48 by $0.24. Harley-Davidson had a net margin of 11.03% and a return on equity of 19.48%. The business had revenue of $1.48 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.42 billion. As a group, research analysts forecast that Harley-Davidson will post 4.46 EPS for the current year.

Harley-Davidson Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 21st. Investors of record on Wednesday, June 5th were issued a dividend of $0.1725 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, June 5th. This represents a $0.69 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.01%. Harley-Davidson’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 15.33%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently commented on HOG. Robert W. Baird reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $40.00 price target on shares of Harley-Davidson in a report on Tuesday, July 2nd. BMO Capital Markets dropped their target price on shares of Harley-Davidson from $50.00 to $45.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 26th. DA Davidson lifted their price target on shares of Harley-Davidson from $42.00 to $49.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 11th. Morgan Stanley began coverage on shares of 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, Citigroup decreased their target price on shares of Harley-Davidson from $36.00 to $34.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, June 12th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $44.57.

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.