Harley-Davidson (NYSE:HOG) Given New $39.00 Price Target at Citigroup

Harley-Davidson (NYSE:HOG) had its price objective boosted by Citigroup from $37.00 to $39.00 in a research note released on Thursday morning, Benzinga reports. Citigroup currently has a neutral rating on the stock.

Several other analysts also recently commented on the stock. Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on shares of Harley-Davidson from $40.00 to $44.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a research report on Friday, July 26th. UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of Harley-Davidson from $39.00 to $40.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a research report on Friday, August 23rd. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $46.00.

Harley-Davidson Stock Up 3.0 %

HOG opened at $39.52 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 1.50, a quick ratio of 1.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.44. Harley-Davidson has a 1-year low of $25.43 and a 1-year high of $44.16. The company has a market capitalization of $5.32 billion, a PE ratio of 8.78, a PEG ratio of 1.28 and a beta of 1.44. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $36.46 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $36.78.

Harley-Davidson (NYSE:HOG) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The company reported $1.63 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.40 by $0.23. The business had revenue of $1.62 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.29 billion. Harley-Davidson had a net margin of 11.92% and a return on equity of 20.33%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 12.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.22 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Harley-Davidson will post 4.32 EPS for the current year.

Harley-Davidson declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase program on Thursday, July 25th that allows the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to repurchase up to 19.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are often a sign that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Harley-Davidson Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 27th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 16th will be paid a $0.1725 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 16th. This represents a $0.69 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.75%. Harley-Davidson’s payout ratio is currently 15.33%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Harley-Davidson

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Quadrant Capital Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of Harley-Davidson by 95.0% during the 4th quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 788 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 384 shares during the period. Principal Securities Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Harley-Davidson during the 4th quarter worth about $38,000. Future Financial Wealth Managment LLC purchased a new position in shares of Harley-Davidson during the 1st quarter worth about $39,000. Neo Ivy Capital Management purchased a new position in shares of Harley-Davidson during the 4th quarter worth about $50,000. Finally, American National Bank purchased a new position in shares of Harley-Davidson during the 1st quarter worth about $52,000. 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.