Harley-Davidson Sees Unusually High Options Volume (NYSE:HOG)

Harley-Davidson, Inc. (NYSE:HOG - Get Free Report) was the recipient of some unusual options trading activity on Tuesday. Stock traders bought 6,626 call options on the stock. This is an increase of approximately 110% compared to the average daily volume of 3,156 call options.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Luke Christopher Mansfield sold 3,400 shares of Harley-Davidson stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $25.96, for a total transaction of $88,264.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 23,555 shares in the company, valued at approximately $611,487.80. The trade was a 12.61 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.87% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Harley-Davidson

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its stake in shares of Harley-Davidson by 5.1% in the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 6,835,139 shares of the company's stock worth $205,940,000 after buying an additional 332,928 shares in the last quarter. LSV Asset Management grew its position in Harley-Davidson by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 5,498,635 shares of the company's stock worth $165,674,000 after acquiring an additional 19,453 shares in the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. raised its position in Harley-Davidson by 30.7% during the fourth quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 5,468,089 shares of the company's stock valued at $164,754,000 after purchasing an additional 1,285,225 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. raised its position in Harley-Davidson by 14.2% during the fourth quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 3,496,579 shares of the company's stock valued at $105,352,000 after purchasing an additional 435,200 shares during the period. Finally, Donald Smith & CO. Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Harley-Davidson in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $50,368,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.10% of the company's stock.

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Harley-Davidson Price Performance

HOG stock traded up $1.06 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $22.55. The company had a trading volume of 3,743,624 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,924,666. The company has a market capitalization of $2.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.77, a P/E/G ratio of 0.38 and a beta of 1.28. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $25.15 and a 200 day moving average price of $29.67. The company has a quick ratio of 1.19, a current ratio of 1.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41. Harley-Davidson has a 12-month low of $20.45 and a 12-month high of $40.51.

Harley-Davidson (NYSE:HOG - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The company reported ($0.93) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.65) by ($0.28). Harley-Davidson had a net margin of 9.25% and a return on equity of 13.64%. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.18 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that Harley-Davidson will post 3.44 earnings per share for the current year.

Harley-Davidson Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Investors of record on Friday, February 28th were given a $0.18 dividend. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.19%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 28th. This is a boost from Harley-Davidson's previous quarterly dividend of $0.17. Harley-Davidson's payout ratio is currently 21.62%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on Harley-Davidson from $33.00 to $31.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. UBS Group lowered their price target on shares of Harley-Davidson from $35.00 to $28.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 20th. DA Davidson reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $31.00 price objective on shares of Harley-Davidson in a research note on Wednesday. Citigroup lowered their target price on shares of Harley-Davidson from $29.00 to $28.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 2nd. Finally, Bank of America cut their price target on Harley-Davidson from $40.00 to $35.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, two have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $32.00.

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.