Harley-Davidson, Inc. (NYSE:HOG) Sees Significant Increase in Short Interest

Harley-Davidson, Inc. (NYSE:HOG - Get Free Report) was the recipient of a significant increase in short interest in the month of 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 volume of 1,820,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 5.7 days. Currently, 8.0% of the shares of the company are sold short.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. LSV Asset Management grew its holdings in shares of Harley-Davidson by 17.3% during the second quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 5,705,775 shares of the company's stock worth $191,372,000 after buying an additional 842,407 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its stake in 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 during the period. American Century Companies Inc. raised its holdings in Harley-Davidson by 42.8% in the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 2,263,919 shares of the company's stock valued at $75,932,000 after acquiring an additional 678,092 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Harley-Davidson by 3.5% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 13,428,716 shares of the company's stock worth $587,372,000 after purchasing an additional 452,536 shares during the period. Finally, SG Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Harley-Davidson during the first quarter worth $11,797,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.10% of the company's stock.

Harley-Davidson Price Performance

NYSE:HOG traded up $0.14 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $36.65. 1,683,288 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,731,515. Harley-Davidson has a 1 year low of $25.43 and a 1 year high of $44.16. The company has a market cap of $4.93 billion, a PE ratio of 8.14, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.28 and a beta of 1.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.44, a quick ratio of 1.32 and a current ratio of 1.50. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $36.77 and its 200 day simple moving average is $36.15.

Harley-Davidson (NYSE:HOG - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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. 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.29 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.22 EPS. The company's revenue was up 12.0% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts expect that Harley-Davidson will post 4.19 EPS for the current year.

Harley-Davidson announced that its board has approved a share repurchase program on Thursday, July 25th that authorizes the company to buyback $1.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to buy up to 19.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are generally an indication that the company's management believes its stock is undervalued.

Harley-Davidson Announces Dividend

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on HOG. Bank of America cut their target price on Harley-Davidson from $50.00 to $45.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday. Citigroup raised their target price on Harley-Davidson from $37.00 to $39.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, September 19th. Robert W. Baird cut shares of Harley-Davidson from an "outperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and lowered their price target for the stock from $44.00 to $40.00 in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. UBS Group increased 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. Finally, Baird R W downgraded shares of Harley-Davidson from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $44.00.

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.