Harley-Davidson (NYSE:HOG) Shares Gap Down – Here’s What Happened

Shares of Harley-Davidson, Inc. (NYSE:HOG) gapped down before the market opened on Wednesday . The stock had previously closed at $38.02, but opened at $36.27. Harley-Davidson shares last traded at $36.63, with a volume of 297,557 shares traded.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on HOG shares. Baird R W downgraded shares of Harley-Davidson from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Robert W. Baird cut Harley-Davidson from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $44.00 to $40.00 in a report on Wednesday. Citigroup upped their price objective on Harley-Davidson from $37.00 to $39.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, September 19th. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of Harley-Davidson from $39.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, August 23rd. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $45.43.

Harley-Davidson Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.44, a current ratio of 1.50 and a quick ratio of 1.32. The firm has a market cap of $4.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.82, a PEG ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.44. The company’s 50-day moving average is $37.13 and its two-hundred day moving average is $36.72.

Harley-Davidson (NYSE:HOG) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The company reported $1.63 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.40 by $0.23. Harley-Davidson had a net margin of 11.92% and a return on equity of 20.33%. 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 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 12.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Harley-Davidson, Inc. will post 4.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Harley-Davidson Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 27th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 16th were paid a dividend of $0.1725 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 16th. This represents a $0.69 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.96%. Harley-Davidson’s payout ratio is 15.33%.

Harley-Davidson declared 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 shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the company to buy up to 19.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are generally an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Harley-Davidson

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Harley-Davidson by 3.5% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 13,428,716 shares of the company’s stock worth $587,372,000 after acquiring an additional 452,536 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its position in shares of Harley-Davidson by 12.8% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 6,248,512 shares of the company’s stock worth $209,576,000 after acquiring an additional 708,260 shares in the last quarter. LSV Asset Management grew its stake in Harley-Davidson by 17.3% in the second 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. grew its holdings 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 period. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP increased its stake in Harley-Davidson by 5.9% during the 4th quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 678,799 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,007,000 after purchasing an additional 37,651 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.10% of the company’s stock.

About Harley-Davidson

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.