Generac (NYSE:GNRC) Upgraded to “Strong-Buy” at TD Cowen

TD Cowen upgraded shares of Generac (NYSE:GNRC) to a strong-buy rating in a research note released on Monday,Zacks reports.

Several other research analysts have also issued reports on the company. Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on Generac from $285.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 30th. Cantor Fitzgerald decreased their price objective on Generac from $333.00 to $297.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Generac in a research report on Thursday, September 17th. Canaccord Genuity Group upped their target price on shares of Generac from $275.00 to $375.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 17th. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised shares of Generac from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $290.45.

Generac Price Performance

Shares of GNRC stock opened at $215.45 on Monday. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $200.98 and its 200-day moving average price is $226.25. Generac has a fifty-two week low of $134.80 and a fifty-two week high of $296.44. The firm has a market cap of $12.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 49.64, a P/E/G ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 1.91. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a current ratio of 2.04.

Generac (NYSE:GNRC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The technology company reported $2.91 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.01 by $0.90. Generac had a net margin of 5.82% and a return on equity of 17.83%. The business had revenue of $1.17 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.18 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.65 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Generac will post 9.74 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Aaron Jagdfeld sold 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $194.89, for a total value of $974,450.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 554,528 shares in the company, valued at approximately $108,071,961.92. This represents a 0.89% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Norman P. Taffe sold 550 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $218.83, for a total transaction of $120,356.50. Following the sale, the insider owned 15,508 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,393,615.64. The trade was a 3.43% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold a total of 17,289 shares of company stock worth $3,409,173 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 2.40% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Generac

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Callan Family Office LLC bought a new position in shares of Generac in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $3,033,000. Hsbc Holdings PLC grew its position in shares of Generac by 42.8% during the 4th quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 93,080 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $12,711,000 after acquiring an additional 27,893 shares during the period. Virtu Financial LLC increased its stake in shares of Generac by 89.2% in the 4th quarter. Virtu Financial LLC now owns 30,377 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $4,143,000 after purchasing an additional 14,321 shares in the last quarter. Patton Fund Management Inc. bought a new position in Generac in the 1st quarter worth $3,797,000. Finally, Tidal Investments LLC grew its holdings in Generac by 94.3% during the second quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 55,302 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $16,193,000 after purchasing an additional 26,836 shares during the period. 84.04% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Generac

Generac Holdings Inc is an energy technology company that designs and manufactures power generation equipment, energy storage systems and other products intended to provide backup and distributed energy solutions. Its offerings serve residential, commercial, industrial and other users seeking standby power, portable power or greater control over energy use.

The company’s product portfolio includes home standby generators, portable generators, commercial and industrial generators, mobile power equipment, engines and related transfer switches and controls.