Harley-Davidson Sees Unusually High Options Volume (NYSE:HOG)

Harley-Davidson, Inc. (NYSE:HOG) saw unusually large options trading on Thursday. Stock investors acquired 5,076 put options on the company. This is an increase of 51% compared to the average volume of 3,360 put options.

Insider Transactions at Harley-Davidson

In other news, insider Luke Christopher Mansfield sold 3,400 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $25.96, for a total transaction of $88,264.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 23,555 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $611,487.80. The trade was a 12.61 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 0.87% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Harley-Davidson

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in HOG. Venturi Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in Harley-Davidson by 172.0% in the fourth quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 876 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 554 shares during the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its holdings in Harley-Davidson by 3,514.8% during the 1st quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 976 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 949 shares during the period. Bessemer Group Inc. grew its position in Harley-Davidson by 237.9% during the 4th quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 1,301 shares of the company’s stock worth $39,000 after acquiring an additional 916 shares during the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. bought a new stake in Harley-Davidson in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $42,000. Finally, Global Retirement Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Harley-Davidson by 84.3% in the fourth quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 1,850 shares of the company’s stock worth $56,000 after purchasing an additional 846 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.10% of the company’s stock.

Harley-Davidson Price Performance

HOG stock traded down $2.69 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $20.99. 739,134 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,902,708. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $25.34 and a 200-day moving average price of $29.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41, a current ratio of 1.40 and a quick ratio of 1.19. Harley-Davidson has a 52-week low of $20.45 and a 52-week high of $42.49. The company has a market capitalization of $2.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.31, a P/E/G ratio of 0.38 and a beta of 1.28.

Harley-Davidson (NYSE:HOG) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The company reported ($0.93) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.65) by ($0.28). Harley-Davidson had a return on equity of 13.64% and a net margin of 9.25%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.18 earnings per share. As a group, analysts anticipate that Harley-Davidson will post 3.44 earnings per share for the current year.

Harley-Davidson Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 28th were issued a dividend of $0.18 per share. This is a positive change from Harley-Davidson’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.17. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 28th. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.43%. Harley-Davidson’s payout ratio is presently 21.62%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the company. UBS Group lowered their price target on Harley-Davidson from $35.00 to $28.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 20th. Robert W. Baird reduced their price target on shares of Harley-Davidson from $32.00 to $26.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 4th. DA Davidson reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $31.00 target price on shares of Harley-Davidson in a research note on Wednesday. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on shares of Harley-Davidson from $33.00 to $31.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Citigroup dropped their price objective on Harley-Davidson from $29.00 to $28.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 2nd. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, two have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Harley-Davidson presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $32.00.

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.