Tuesday, November 23, 2010

Harley-Davidson (NYSE:HOG) Earnings Lowered by Wells Fargo (NYSE:WFC)

While Wells Fargo (NYSE:WFC) likes the long-term position of Harley-Davidson (NYSE:HOG), because of its strong brand and lowering of operating costs, they still lowered their earnings per share estimates for full year 2010 and 2011, although 2012 shipments for the company should improve.

Wells said, "Harley is well positioned as the global leader in the heavyweight motorcycle market given its iconic brand (image and lifestyle) and solid financials, in our view. We believe investors are yet to fully appreciate (1) Improving supply/demand that should allow for '12 shipments equal to retail sales, (2) Materially lower operating cost structure and significantly improving free cash generation, and (3) Positively skewed HDFS risk profile."

An "Outperform" rating was maintained on Harley by Wells Fargo, and their raised their valuation range from $35-$37 to $36-$39.

Harley closed Monday at $31.58, losing $0.32, or 1.00 percent.

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