Harley-Davidson (NYSE:HOG) Rating Lowered to Neutral at Robert W. Baird

Harley-Davidson (NYSE:HOG) was downgraded by stock analysts at Robert W. Baird from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating in a note issued to investors on Wednesday, MarketBeat reports. They presently have a $40.00 price target on the stock, down from their prior price target of $44.00. Robert W. Baird’s target price suggests a potential upside of 13.64% from the stock’s previous close.

A number of other equities analysts have also commented on HOG. Citigroup raised their price objective on shares of Harley-Davidson from $37.00 to $39.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 19th. UBS Group raised their price target on shares of Harley-Davidson from $39.00 to $40.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, August 23rd. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $45.43.

Harley-Davidson Trading Down 3.5 %

Shares of HOG stock opened at $35.20 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.82, a PEG ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.44. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $37.13 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $36.72. Harley-Davidson has a 1 year low of $25.43 and a 1 year high of $44.16. 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 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. Harley-Davidson had a return on equity of 20.33% and a net margin of 11.92%. The business had revenue of $1.62 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.29 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.22 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 12.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts anticipate that Harley-Davidson will post 4.32 earnings per share for the current year.

Harley-Davidson declared that its board has initiated a share repurchase program on Thursday, July 25th that permits the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to repurchase up to 19.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are often a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Harley-Davidson

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in Harley-Davidson by 3.5% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 13,428,716 shares of the company’s stock worth $587,372,000 after buying an additional 452,536 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its holdings in shares of Harley-Davidson by 12.8% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 6,248,512 shares of the company’s stock valued at $209,576,000 after purchasing an additional 708,260 shares during the last quarter. LSV Asset Management raised its position in Harley-Davidson by 17.3% in the 2nd quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 5,705,775 shares of the company’s stock worth $191,372,000 after purchasing an additional 842,407 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its stake in Harley-Davidson by 42.8% in the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 2,263,919 shares of the company’s stock worth $75,932,000 after purchasing an additional 678,092 shares during the last quarter. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP boosted its position in Harley-Davidson by 5.9% during the fourth quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 678,799 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,007,000 after buying an additional 37,651 shares during the period. 85.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.