Generac (NYSE:GNRC) Upgraded to Strong-Buy at Baird R W

Generac (NYSE:GNRC) was upgraded by research analysts at Baird R W from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report issued on Friday,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other research firms have also recently commented on GNRC. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of Generac from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $200.00 target price for the company in a report on Monday, December 8th. Wells Fargo & Company set a $195.00 price objective on shares of Generac in a research report on Friday, December 19th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Generac from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday, September 28th. UBS Group lowered their price target on shares of Generac from $220.00 to $215.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 30th. Finally, Barclays increased their price target on Generac from $188.00 to $197.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, October 31st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have assigned a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $198.44.

Generac Price Performance

GNRC stock opened at $152.87 on Friday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $150.07 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $165.88. Generac has a 12 month low of $99.50 and a 12 month high of $203.25. The company has a quick ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 2.18 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51. The firm has a market cap of $8.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.12, a P/E/G ratio of 1.21 and a beta of 1.82.

Generac (NYSE:GNRC) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, October 29th. The technology company reported $1.83 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.25 by ($0.42). Generac had a net margin of 6.92% and a return on equity of 17.63%. The business had revenue of $1.11 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.20 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.25 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 5.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts anticipate that Generac will post 8 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Generac

In related news, CEO Aaron Jagdfeld sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $166.43, for a total value of $832,150.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 542,966 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $90,365,831.38. The trade was a 0.91% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Company insiders own 2.70% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. State Street Corp grew its position in shares of Generac by 2.1% in the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 2,189,927 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $313,619,000 after buying an additional 45,592 shares during the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Generac by 17.9% in the third quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 2,138,139 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $355,530,000 after acquiring an additional 324,809 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. boosted its holdings in Generac by 40.9% in the second quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,992,447 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $285,338,000 after acquiring an additional 577,933 shares during the last quarter. Boston Partners increased its position in Generac by 7.1% during the 3rd quarter. Boston Partners now owns 1,947,332 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $326,003,000 after purchasing an additional 128,439 shares during the period. Finally, Ariel Investments LLC increased its position in Generac by 11.7% during the 2nd quarter. Ariel Investments LLC now owns 1,804,595 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $258,436,000 after purchasing an additional 188,717 shares during the period. 84.04% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Generac

Generac Holdings Inc (NYSE: GNRC) is a leading manufacturer of backup power generation products for residential, commercial and industrial applications. The company offers a comprehensive portfolio of standby and portable generators, transfer switches and power management systems designed to provide reliable electricity during power outages and other critical situations. With an emphasis on innovation, Generac has expanded its offerings to include clean energy technologies such as battery storage and integrated solar-plus-storage systems.

Generac’s product lineup addresses a broad range of customer needs.