Harley-Davidson, Inc. (NYSE:HOG) Short Interest Up 5.7% in September

Harley-Davidson, Inc. (NYSE:HOG) was the recipient of a large increase in short interest in September. As of September 30th, there was short interest totalling 10,370,000 shares, an increase of 5.7% from the September 15th total of 9,810,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 1,820,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 5.7 days. Approximately 8.0% of the shares of the company are sold short.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have commented on HOG. Bank of America lowered their price objective on Harley-Davidson from $50.00 to $45.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday. Baird R W lowered Harley-Davidson from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. Robert W. Baird downgraded Harley-Davidson from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their target price for the stock from $44.00 to $40.00 in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. UBS Group increased their target price on Harley-Davidson from $39.00 to $40.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, August 23rd. Finally, Citigroup boosted their price target on Harley-Davidson from $37.00 to $39.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, September 19th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Harley-Davidson presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $44.00.

Harley-Davidson Stock Up 0.4 %

NYSE HOG traded up $0.14 on Thursday, hitting $36.65. 1,683,282 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,731,515. The company has a current ratio of 1.50, a quick ratio of 1.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.44. The company has a market cap of $4.93 billion, a PE ratio of 8.15, a PEG ratio of 1.28 and a beta of 1.44. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $36.76 and a 200-day moving average of $36.15. Harley-Davidson has a 12 month low of $25.43 and a 12 month high of $44.16.

Harley-Davidson (NYSE:HOG) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The company reported $1.63 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.40 by $0.23. The company had revenue of $1.62 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.29 billion. Harley-Davidson had a net margin of 11.92% and a return on equity of 20.33%. The firm’s revenue was up 12.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.22 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that Harley-Davidson will post 4.19 earnings per share for the current year.

Harley-Davidson announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase program on Thursday, July 25th that authorizes the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the company to reacquire up to 19.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are typically an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Harley-Davidson Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 27th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 16th were issued a $0.1725 dividend. This represents a $0.69 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.88%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 16th. Harley-Davidson’s dividend payout ratio is presently 15.33%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Harley-Davidson

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of HOG. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its holdings in shares of Harley-Davidson by 19.0% in the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,008 shares of the company’s stock worth $67,000 after purchasing an additional 320 shares during the period. Fifth Third Bancorp grew its position in Harley-Davidson by 19.5% in the second quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 1,970 shares of the company’s stock worth $66,000 after acquiring an additional 322 shares in the last quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank increased its stake in Harley-Davidson by 0.7% in the first quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 51,975 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,273,000 after acquiring an additional 345 shares during the last quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama raised its position in Harley-Davidson by 0.3% during the first quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama now owns 159,149 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,961,000 after purchasing an additional 420 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Signaturefd LLC lifted its stake 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 purchasing an additional 597 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.10% of the company’s stock.

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.