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

Harley-Davidson, Inc. (NYSE:HOG) was the target of a significant 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 trading volume, of 1,710,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 6.1 days. Currently, 8.2% of the shares of the company are short sold.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Maryrose Sylvester sold 4,278 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $32.25, for a total value of $137,965.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 17,687 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $570,405.75. This represents a 19.48 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.87% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Harley-Davidson

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Prospera Private Wealth LLC acquired a new position in shares of Harley-Davidson in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new position in Harley-Davidson during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $38,000. Signaturefd LLC increased its position in Harley-Davidson by 46.8% during the 2nd quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 1,872 shares of the company’s stock worth $63,000 after purchasing an additional 597 shares in the last quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp increased its position in Harley-Davidson by 19.5% during the 2nd quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 1,970 shares of the company’s stock worth $66,000 after purchasing an additional 322 shares in the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC increased its position in Harley-Davidson by 19.0% during the 2nd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,008 shares of the company’s stock worth $67,000 after purchasing an additional 320 shares in the last quarter. 85.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently issued reports on HOG shares. Citigroup dropped their price target on shares of Harley-Davidson from $39.00 to $34.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Robert W. Baird lowered shares of Harley-Davidson from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $44.00 to $40.00 in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Bank of America dropped their price objective on shares of Harley-Davidson from $50.00 to $45.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, October 15th. Baird R W lowered shares of Harley-Davidson from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Finally, UBS Group dropped their price objective on shares of Harley-Davidson from $40.00 to $35.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, November 7th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Harley-Davidson has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $42.57.

Harley-Davidson Stock Performance

NYSE HOG traded down $0.21 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $33.82. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 889,956 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,699,437. The company has a current ratio of 1.41, a quick ratio of 1.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.38. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.62, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.46 and a beta of 1.47. Harley-Davidson has a 12 month low of $30.48 and a 12 month high of $44.16. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $34.21 and a 200 day moving average price of $35.02.

Harley-Davidson Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 23rd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 10th will be given a $0.1725 dividend. This represents a $0.69 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.04%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 10th. Harley-Davidson’s payout ratio is presently 15.54%.

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.