Harley-Davidson (NYSE:HOG) Now Covered by Analysts at Morgan Stanley

Morgan Stanley started coverage on shares of Harley-Davidson (NYSE:HOG) in a research report report published on Tuesday morning, MarketBeat.com reports. The firm issued an overweight rating and a $50.00 target price on the stock.

Several other research analysts also recently commented on HOG. Citigroup raised their price target on shares of Harley-Davidson from $36.00 to $37.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a report on Tuesday, February 27th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on Harley-Davidson from $45.00 to $50.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 3rd. DA Davidson upped their target price on Harley-Davidson from $42.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. Bank of America lifted their price target on Harley-Davidson from $50.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research report on Thursday, March 14th. Finally, UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of Harley-Davidson from $29.00 to $39.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a research report on Friday, February 16th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $47.14.

Harley-Davidson Stock Performance

NYSE HOG opened at $39.73 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $5.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.24, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.50 and a beta of 1.43. The company has a quick ratio of 1.25, a current ratio of 1.53 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.53. The company’s 50 day moving average is $39.91 and its 200-day moving average is $34.88. Harley-Davidson has a 12-month low of $25.43 and a 12-month high of $44.16.

Harley-Davidson (NYSE:HOG) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 8th. The company reported $0.18 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.04 by $0.14. Harley-Davidson had a return on equity of 22.00% and a net margin of 12.11%. The business had revenue of $791.65 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $875.29 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.28 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 13.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that Harley-Davidson will post 4.19 earnings per share for the current year.

Harley-Davidson Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 20th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 4th were paid a $0.1725 dividend. This is a boost from Harley-Davidson’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.17. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 1st. This represents a $0.69 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.74%. Harley-Davidson’s dividend payout ratio is 14.32%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System grew its holdings in Harley-Davidson by 2.5% in the 1st quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System now owns 36,500 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,597,000 after acquiring an additional 900 shares during the last quarter. Amalgamated Bank lifted its holdings in Harley-Davidson by 7.1% in the 1st quarter. Amalgamated Bank now owns 86,571 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,787,000 after buying an additional 5,741 shares during the period. Raymond James & Associates lifted its holdings in Harley-Davidson by 5.8% in the 1st quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 588,911 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,759,000 after buying an additional 32,073 shares during the period. State of Michigan Retirement System grew its position in shares of Harley-Davidson by 2.6% in the 1st quarter. State of Michigan Retirement System now owns 31,161 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,363,000 after buying an additional 800 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Diversified Trust Co increased its stake in shares of Harley-Davidson by 17.2% during the first quarter. Diversified Trust Co now owns 100,374 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,390,000 after buying an additional 14,751 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.10% of the company’s stock.

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.