Harley-Davidson Inc (HOG): Today's Featured Automotive Leader

Harley-Davidson (HOG) pushed the Automotive industry higher today making it today's featured automotive leader. The industry as a whole closed the day up 0.3%. By the end of trading, Harley-Davidson rose 76 cents (1.7%) to $44.78 on light volume. Throughout the day, 1.8 million shares of Harley-Davidson exchanged hands as compared to its average daily volume of 2.4 million shares. The stock ranged in a price between $44.09-$45.18 after having opened the day at $44.22 as compared to the previous trading day's close of $44.02. Other companies within the Automotive industry that increased today were: ATC Venture Group (ATC), up 35.5%, Westport Innovations (WPRT), up 4.4%, China Zenix Auto International Ltd ADR (ZX), up 3.5%, and Amerigon (THRM), up 3.3%.

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Harley-Davidson, Inc. engages in the production and sale of heavyweight motorcycles. It operates in two segments, Motorcycles and Related Products, and Financial Services. Harley-Davidson has a market cap of $10.15 billion and is part of the consumer goods sector. The company has a P/E ratio of 17.1, above the average automotive industry P/E ratio of 15.7 and below the S&P 500 P/E ratio of 17.7. Shares are up 13.2% year to date as of the close of trading on Wednesday. Currently there are 12 analysts that rate Harley-Davidson a buy, no analysts rate it a sell, and three rate it a hold.

TheStreet Ratings rates Harley-Davidson as a buy. The company's strengths can be seen in multiple areas, such as its revenue growth, notable return on equity, expanding profit margins, good cash flow from operations and impressive record of earnings per share growth. We feel these strengths outweigh the fact that the company has had generally poor debt management on most measures that we evaluated.

• You can view the full Harley-Davidson Ratings Report.

On the negative front, Johnson Controls (JCI), down 8%, Swift Transportation (SWFT), down 4.4%, Accuride (ACW), down 4%, and Federal-Mogul (FDML), down 3.9%, were all laggards within the automotive industry with Navistar International (NAV) being today's automotive industry laggard.

• Use our automotive section to find industry-relevant news.
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For investors not wanting singular stock exposure, ETFs may be of interest. Investors who are bullish on the automotive industry could consider Consumer Discretionary Sel Sec SPDR (XLY) while those bearish on the automotive industry could consider ProShares Ultra Sht Consumer Goods (SZK).

• Find other investment ideas from our top rated ETFs lists.

For more information on Harley-Davidson Inc click any of the following:

• Harley-Davidson Inc Stock Price

• Harley-Davidson Inc Analyst Ratings

• Harley-Davidson Inc Key Stats & Profile

• Harley-Davidson Inc Earnings

• Harley-Davidson Inc Ratio Comparison

• Harley-Davidson Inc Growth Rates

• Harley-Davidson Inc Balance Sheet

• Harley-Davidson Inc Cash Flow

• Harley-Davidson Inc Income Statement