Harley-Davidson (NYSE:HOG) Now Covered by Analysts at Morgan Stanley

Morgan Stanley began coverage on shares of Harley-Davidson (NYSE:HOG) in a research note released on Tuesday morning, MarketBeat reports. The brokerage issued an overweight rating and a $50.00 target price on the stock.

HOG has been the topic of a number of other research reports. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on shares of Harley-Davidson from $45.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Citigroup lifted their target price on shares of Harley-Davidson from $36.00 to $37.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 27th. UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of Harley-Davidson from $29.00 to $39.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a research report on Friday, February 16th. Bank of America boosted their price objective on shares of Harley-Davidson from $50.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research report on Thursday, March 14th. Finally, DA Davidson boosted their price objective on shares of Harley-Davidson from $42.00 to $49.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $46.43.

Harley-Davidson Stock Performance

Harley-Davidson stock opened at $34.75 on Tuesday. Harley-Davidson has a fifty-two week low of $25.43 and a fifty-two week high of $44.16. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.53, a quick ratio of 1.25 and a current ratio of 1.53. The stock has a market cap of $4.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 1.43. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $39.81 and its 200-day moving average price is $34.93.

Harley-Davidson (NYSE:HOG) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 25th. The company reported $1.72 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.48 by $0.24. Harley-Davidson had a net margin of 12.11% and a return on equity of 22.00%. The company had revenue of $1.48 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.42 billion. On average, equities research analysts expect that Harley-Davidson will post 4.24 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Harley-Davidson Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 20th. Investors of record on Monday, March 4th were paid a dividend of $0.1725 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 1st. This represents a $0.69 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.99%. This is a positive change from Harley-Davidson’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.17. Harley-Davidson’s payout ratio is presently 14.32%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Harley-Davidson

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Quadrant Capital Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of Harley-Davidson by 95.0% in the fourth quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 788 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 384 shares in the last quarter. Future Financial Wealth Managment LLC bought a new position in shares of Harley-Davidson in the first quarter worth approximately $39,000. BKM Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Harley-Davidson in the fourth quarter worth approximately $36,000. Principal Securities Inc. bought a new position in shares of Harley-Davidson in the fourth quarter worth approximately $38,000. Finally, Lindbrook Capital LLC lifted its stake in shares of Harley-Davidson by 66.7% in the fourth quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 1,057 shares of the company’s stock worth $39,000 after buying an additional 423 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 85.10% of the company’s stock.

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.