Harley-Davidson, Inc. (NYSE:HOG) Short Interest Update

Harley-Davidson, Inc. (NYSE:HOG) was the recipient of a large decline in short interest in December. As of December 31st, there was short interest totalling 9,280,000 shares, a decline of 7.0% from the December 15th total of 9,980,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 1,450,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 6.4 days. Currently, 7.3% of the shares of the stock are short sold.

Harley-Davidson Trading Down 1.9 %

Shares of NYSE HOG traded down $0.57 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $29.08. The stock had a trading volume of 1,471,814 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,256,211. The firm has a market cap of $3.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.55, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.32 and a beta of 1.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.38, a quick ratio of 1.25 and a current ratio of 1.41. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $31.53 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $34.19. Harley-Davidson has a 1 year low of $27.37 and a 1 year high of $44.16.

Harley-Davidson Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 23rd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 10th were paid a dividend of $0.1725 per share. This represents a $0.69 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.37%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, December 10th. Harley-Davidson’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 15.54%.

Insider Activity

In other Harley-Davidson news, Director Maryrose Sylvester sold 4,278 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $32.25, for a total value of $137,965.50. Following the sale, the director now owns 17,687 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $570,405.75. This trade represents a 19.48 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Company insiders own 0.87% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Harley-Davidson

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Prospera Private Wealth LLC bought a new position in Harley-Davidson in the 3rd quarter worth $35,000. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC bought a new stake in shares of Harley-Davidson during the 3rd quarter valued at about $38,000. Brooklyn Investment Group purchased a new position in shares of Harley-Davidson during the third quarter valued at about $79,000. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake in Harley-Davidson by 24.6% in the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,502 shares of the company’s stock worth $96,000 after buying an additional 494 shares in the last quarter. Finally, DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale lifted its holdings in Harley-Davidson by 191.3% in the second quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale now owns 3,999 shares of the company’s stock worth $133,000 after buying an additional 2,626 shares during the period. 85.10% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on HOG shares. Bank of America lowered their target price on shares of Harley-Davidson from $50.00 to $45.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, October 15th. Citigroup lowered their price objective on shares of Harley-Davidson from $39.00 to $34.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Robert W. Baird cut their target price on shares of Harley-Davidson from $40.00 to $36.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, December 31st. UBS Group lowered their price target on Harley-Davidson from $40.00 to $35.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. Finally, Baird R W lowered shares of Harley-Davidson from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $42.00.

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.