Short Interest in Harley-Davidson, Inc. (NYSE:HOG) Grows By 11.6%

Harley-Davidson, Inc. (NYSE:HOG) was the recipient of a large growth in short interest during the month of November. As of November 15th, there was short interest totalling 10,360,000 shares, a growth of 11.6% from the October 31st total of 9,280,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 1,710,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 6.1 days. Approximately 8.2% of the shares of the stock are sold short.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have commented on the stock. Bank of America cut their price objective on shares of Harley-Davidson from $50.00 to $45.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, October 15th. Baird R W cut shares of Harley-Davidson from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. UBS Group reduced their price target on shares of Harley-Davidson from $40.00 to $35.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Harley-Davidson from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 27th. Finally, Robert W. Baird downgraded shares of Harley-Davidson from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their target price for the stock from $44.00 to $40.00 in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $42.57.

Harley-Davidson Stock Performance

NYSE HOG opened at $33.82 on Wednesday. Harley-Davidson has a 1 year low of $30.48 and a 1 year high of $44.16. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.38, a current ratio of 1.41 and a quick ratio of 1.25. The firm has a market cap of $4.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.62, a PEG ratio of 0.46 and a beta of 1.47. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $34.21 and a 200-day moving average price of $35.02.

Harley-Davidson Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 23rd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.1725 per share. This represents a $0.69 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.04%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 10th. Harley-Davidson’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 15.54%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Maryrose Sylvester sold 4,278 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $32.25, for a total transaction of $137,965.50. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 17,687 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $570,405.75. The trade was a 19.48 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Insiders own 0.87% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Harley-Davidson

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in HOG. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its position in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 320 shares during the last quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp grew its position in Harley-Davidson by 19.5% during the second quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 1,970 shares of the company’s stock valued at $66,000 after acquiring an additional 322 shares during the last quarter. MML Investors Services LLC grew its position in Harley-Davidson by 4.7% during the third quarter. MML Investors Services LLC now owns 8,430 shares of the company’s stock valued at $325,000 after acquiring an additional 379 shares during the last quarter. Covestor Ltd grew its position in Harley-Davidson by 14.7% during the third quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 3,505 shares of the company’s stock valued at $135,000 after acquiring an additional 448 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Signaturefd LLC grew its position in Harley-Davidson by 46.8% during the second quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 1,872 shares of the company’s stock valued at $63,000 after acquiring an additional 597 shares during the last quarter. 85.10% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other 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.