Harley-Davidson (NYSE:HOG) Releases Quarterly Earnings Results, Beats Expectations By $0.09 EPS

Harley-Davidson (NYSE:HOG) issued its earnings results on Thursday. The company reported $0.91 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.82 by $0.09, reports. Harley-Davidson had a return on equity of 20.33% and a net margin of 11.92%. The business had revenue of $881.21 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $970.25 million.

Harley-Davidson Price Performance

Harley-Davidson stock traded up $0.18 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $31.85. 2,822,302 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,719,743. Harley-Davidson has a 12-month low of $25.43 and a 12-month high of $44.16. The company has a quick ratio of 1.32, a current ratio of 1.50 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.44. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $36.54 and a two-hundred day moving average of $35.78. The company has a market cap of $4.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.48, a PEG ratio of 1.59 and a beta of 1.44.

Harley-Davidson Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 27th. Investors of record on Monday, September 16th were given a $0.1725 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 16th. This represents a $0.69 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.17%. Harley-Davidson’s dividend payout ratio is currently 14.05%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on HOG. Baird R W downgraded shares of Harley-Davidson from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Bank of America reduced their price objective on Harley-Davidson from $50.00 to $45.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, October 15th. UBS Group boosted their price target on 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 downgraded shares of Harley-Davidson from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their price objective for the stock from $44.00 to $40.00 in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Finally, Citigroup cut their target price on shares of Harley-Davidson from $39.00 to $34.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Harley-Davidson presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $43.29.

Harley-Davidson announced that its board has initiated a share buyback program on Thursday, July 25th that permits the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to buy up to 19.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are often an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Institutional Trading of Harley-Davidson

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its position in 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 buying an additional 320 shares during the last quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp grew its holdings in Harley-Davidson by 19.5% during the 2nd quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 1,970 shares of the company’s stock valued at $66,000 after purchasing an additional 322 shares during the last quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank grew its holdings in 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. Retirement Systems of Alabama lifted its stake in Harley-Davidson by 0.3% in the first quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama now owns 159,149 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,961,000 after purchasing an additional 420 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Signaturefd LLC lifted its stake in Harley-Davidson by 46.8% in 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. 85.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.