Generac (NYSE:GNRC) Cut to Strong Sell at Zacks Research

Generac (NYSE:GNRC) was downgraded by equities research analysts at Zacks Research from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other brokerages have also issued reports on GNRC. Needham & Company LLC assumed coverage on Generac in a research note on Monday, January 12th. They set a “buy” rating and a $211.00 price target for the company. Wells Fargo & Company set a $195.00 price objective on Generac in a report on Friday, December 19th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised Generac from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $200.00 target price on the stock in a report on Monday, December 8th. Roth Mkm set a $184.00 price target on shares of Generac and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, October 30th. Finally, UBS Group lowered their price objective on shares of Generac from $220.00 to $215.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 30th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have given a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Generac presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $195.29.

Generac Stock Performance

GNRC stock opened at $175.28 on Wednesday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $151.03 and a 200 day simple moving average of $167.01. The company has a market capitalization of $10.29 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.39, a PEG ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.82. The company has a quick ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 2.18 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51. Generac has a fifty-two week low of $99.50 and a fifty-two week high of $203.25.

Generac (NYSE:GNRC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 29th. The technology company reported $1.83 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.25 by ($0.42). The company had revenue of $1.11 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.20 billion. Generac had a return on equity of 17.63% and a net margin of 6.92%.The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 5.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.25 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that Generac will post 8 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Generac

In related news, CEO Aaron Jagdfeld sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $166.43, for a total transaction of $832,150.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 542,966 shares in the company, 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 legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 2.70% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Generac

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Invesco Ltd. boosted its stake in Generac by 40.9% during the second quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,992,447 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $285,338,000 after buying an additional 577,933 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its position in Generac by 127.0% in the fourth quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 959,337 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $130,825,000 after buying an additional 536,732 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Generac during the second quarter worth approximately $53,138,000. Victory Capital Management Inc. raised 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 valued at $355,530,000 after acquiring an additional 324,809 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Federated Hermes Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Generac by 63.5% in the 2nd quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 749,347 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $107,314,000 after acquiring an additional 291,012 shares in the last quarter. 84.04% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Generac Company Profile

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.