Harley-Davidson, Inc. (NYSE:HOG) to Issue Quarterly Dividend of $0.17

Harley-Davidson, Inc. (NYSE:HOG) declared a quarterly dividend on Wednesday, September 4th, NASDAQ reports. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 16th will be given a dividend of 0.1725 per share on Friday, September 27th. This represents a $0.69 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.84%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 16th.

Harley-Davidson has increased its dividend by an average of 14.5% per year over the last three years. Harley-Davidson has a dividend payout ratio of 14.9% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Research analysts expect Harley-Davidson to earn $4.76 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $0.69 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 14.5%.

Harley-Davidson Price Performance

Shares of NYSE HOG traded down $0.09 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $37.44. The stock had a trading volume of 1,857,435 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,696,372. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $35.56 and a 200-day moving average of $36.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.44, a quick ratio of 1.32 and a current ratio of 1.50. The company has a market capitalization of $5.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.33, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.36 and a beta of 1.46. Harley-Davidson has a 12-month low of $25.43 and a 12-month high of $44.16.

Harley-Davidson (NYSE:HOG) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 25th. The company reported $1.63 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.40 by $0.23. The firm had revenue of $1.62 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.29 billion. Harley-Davidson had a net margin of 11.92% and a return on equity of 20.33%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.22 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Harley-Davidson will post 4.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Harley-Davidson declared that its board has authorized a stock buyback plan on Thursday, July 25th that authorizes the company to buyback $1.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to purchase up to 19.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are typically a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on HOG shares. UBS Group raised their target price on shares of Harley-Davidson from $39.00 to $40.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, August 23rd. Robert W. Baird raised their target price on shares of Harley-Davidson from $40.00 to $44.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, July 26th. Finally, Citigroup cut their target price on shares of Harley-Davidson from $36.00 to $34.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, June 12th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $45.29.

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.