Ford Motor (NYSE:F) vs. Harley-Davidson (NYSE:HOG) Head-To-Head Contrast

Ford Motor (NYSE:F) and Harley-Davidson (NYSE:HOG) are both auto/tires/trucks companies, but which is the superior business? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their earnings, analyst recommendations, risk, institutional ownership, valuation, dividends and profitability.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

58.7% of Ford Motor shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 85.1% of Harley-Davidson shares are owned by institutional investors. 0.5% of Ford Motor shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 0.9% of Harley-Davidson shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Risk & Volatility

Ford Motor has a beta of 1.49, suggesting that its stock price is 49% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Harley-Davidson has a beta of 1.3, suggesting that its stock price is 30% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Profitability

This table compares Ford Motor and Harley-Davidson’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Ford Motor	2.74%	13.49%	2.11%
Harley-Davidson	7.82%	10.72%	2.83%

Dividends

Ford Motor pays an annual dividend of $0.60 per share and has a dividend yield of 5.0%. Harley-Davidson pays an annual dividend of $0.72 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.9%. Ford Motor pays out 48.0% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Harley-Davidson pays out 26.9% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Both companies have healthy payout ratios and should be able to cover their dividend payments with earnings for the next several years. Harley-Davidson has raised its dividend for 5 consecutive years.

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of recent recommendations for Ford Motor and Harley-Davidson, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Ford Motor	3	12	2	0	1.94
Harley-Davidson	0	5	1	1	2.43

Ford Motor currently has a consensus target price of $10.03, indicating a potential downside of 15.76%. Harley-Davidson has a consensus target price of $29.83, indicating a potential upside of 18.79%. Given Harley-Davidson’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe Harley-Davidson is more favorable than Ford Motor.

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares Ford Motor and Harley-Davidson”s gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Ford Motor	$184.99 billion	0.26	$5.88 billion	$1.25	9.53
Harley-Davidson	$5.19 billion	0.59	$455.36 million	$2.68	9.37

Ford Motor has higher revenue and earnings than Harley-Davidson. Harley-Davidson is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Ford Motor, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Summary

Harley-Davidson beats Ford Motor on 11 of the 18 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Ford Motor

Ford Motor Company develops, delivers, and services a range of Ford trucks, commercial cars and vans, sport utility vehicles, and Lincoln luxury vehicles worldwide. It operates through Ford Blue, Ford Model e, and Ford Pro; Ford Next; and Ford Credit segments. The company sells Ford and Lincoln vehicles, service parts, and accessories through distributors and dealers, as well as through dealerships to commercial fleet customers, daily rental car companies, and governments. It also engages in vehicle-related financing and leasing activities to and through automotive dealers. In addition, the company provides retail installment sale contracts for new and used vehicles; and direct financing leases for new vehicles to retail and commercial customers, such as leasing companies, government entities, daily rental companies, and fleet customers. Further, it offers wholesale loans to dealers to finance the purchase of vehicle inventory; and loans to dealers to finance working capital and enhance dealership facilities, purchase dealership real estate, and other dealer vehicle programs. The company was incorporated in 1903 and is based in Dearborn, Michigan.

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. This segment sells its products to retail customers through a network of independent dealers, as well as e-commerce channels. The LiveWire segment sells electric motorcycles, balance bikes for kids, parts and accessories, apparel, and related parts and services. The Harley-Davidson Financial Services segment provides wholesale financing services, such as floorplan and open account financing of motorcycles, and parts and accessories; and retail financing services, such as installment lending for the purchase of new and used Harley-Davidson motorcycles, as well as point-of-sale insurance and voluntary protection products. This segment also licenses third-party financial institutions that issue credit cards bearing the Harley-Davidson brand. Harley-Davidson, Inc. was founded in 1903 and is based in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.