Harley-Davidson (NYSE:HOG) Downgraded to “Sell” Rating by StockNews.com

Harley-Davidson (NYSE:HOG) was downgraded by research analysts at StockNews.com from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday.

Other equities analysts have also recently issued reports about the company. Bank of America cut their price objective on 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 cut Harley-Davidson from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Citigroup cut their price objective on Harley-Davidson from $39.00 to $34.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, October 25th. Robert W. Baird cut Harley-Davidson from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their target price for the company from $44.00 to $40.00 in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Finally, UBS Group dropped their target price on Harley-Davidson from $40.00 to $35.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, November 7th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $42.57.

Harley-Davidson Price Performance

Harley-Davidson stock traded down $0.27 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $32.70. 1,139,650 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,723,719. Harley-Davidson has a 52-week low of $29.67 and a 52-week high of $44.16. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $34.97 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $35.14. 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 company has a market cap of $4.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.36, a PEG ratio of 0.44 and a beta of 1.46.

Harley-Davidson declared that its board has approved a share repurchase plan on Thursday, July 25th that allows the company to buyback $1.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to reacquire up to 19.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are generally a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling at Harley-Davidson

In other Harley-Davidson news, Director Maryrose Sylvester sold 4,278 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $32.25, for a total transaction 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 0.87% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of HOG. Prospera Private Wealth LLC bought a new position in shares of Harley-Davidson in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $35,000. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC bought a new position in shares of Harley-Davidson in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $38,000. Signaturefd LLC raised its position in shares of Harley-Davidson by 46.8% in the 2nd quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 1,872 shares of the company’s stock worth $63,000 after acquiring an additional 597 shares in the last quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp raised its position in shares of Harley-Davidson by 19.5% in the 2nd quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 1,970 shares of the company’s stock worth $66,000 after acquiring an additional 322 shares in the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC raised its position in shares of Harley-Davidson by 19.0% in the 2nd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,008 shares of the company’s stock worth $67,000 after acquiring an additional 320 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.