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

Posted by Defense World Staff on Mar 18th, 2023

Harley-Davidson, Inc. (NYSE:HOG – Get Rating) saw some unusual options trading on Friday. Investors acquired 7,406 put options on the stock. This represents an increase of 111% compared to the average volume of 3,508 put options.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

HOG has been the topic of several research analyst reports. StockNews.com raised shares of Harley-Davidson from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, March 13th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of Harley-Davidson from $48.00 to $50.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 1st. Citigroup set a $49.00 price target on shares of Harley-Davidson in a research report on Wednesday, November 23rd. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Harley-Davidson from an “underperform” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $39.00 price target for the company in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, DA Davidson lifted their price objective on shares of Harley-Davidson from $44.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, February 6th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $49.38.

Harley-Davidson Price Performance

Shares of HOG stock opened at $37.26 on Friday. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $45.56 and its 200-day moving average is $43.04. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.53, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a current ratio of 1.34. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.45 billion, a PE ratio of 7.50, a PEG ratio of 1.36 and a beta of 1.39. Harley-Davidson has a 52 week low of $29.80 and a 52 week high of $51.77.

Harley-Davidson (NYSE:HOG – Get Rating) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 2nd. The company reported $0.28 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.07 by $0.21. Harley-Davidson had a return on equity of 27.23% and a net margin of 13.35%. The firm had revenue of $918.70 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $910.04 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.15 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 14.4% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts expect that Harley-Davidson will post 4.72 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Harley-Davidson Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 3rd will be paid a dividend of $0.165 per share. This is a boost from Harley-Davidson’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.16. This represents a $0.66 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.77%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 2nd. Harley-Davidson’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 13.28%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Harley-Davidson

In other news, SVP Jonathan R. Root sold 2,239 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.17, for a total value of $112,330.63. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 5,474 shares in the company, valued at approximately $274,630.58. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.60% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Harley-Davidson

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. TD Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Harley-Davidson during the third quarter worth about $26,000. Lazard Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in Harley-Davidson during the 1st quarter worth approximately $31,000. Ellevest Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Harley-Davidson by 327.2% in the 3rd quarter. Ellevest Inc. now owns 1,115 shares of the company’s stock worth $39,000 after buying an additional 854 shares during the last quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. boosted its stake in shares of Harley-Davidson by 1,144.1% in the 1st quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. now owns 1,381 shares of the company’s stock worth $54,000 after buying an additional 1,270 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Covestor Ltd lifted its stake in Harley-Davidson by 74.7% in the first quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 1,660 shares of the company’s stock valued at $65,000 after purchasing an additional 710 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 83.96% of the company’s stock.

Harley-Davidson Company Profile

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Harley-Davidson, Inc is engaged in the manufacture and sale of custom, cruiser, and touring motorcycles. It operates through the following segments: Motorcycles & Related Products and Financial Services. The Motorcycles & Related Products segment manufactures, designs, and sells at wholesale on-road Harley-Davidson motorcycles as well as motorcycle parts, accessories, general merchandise, and related services.