Generac (NYSE:GNRC) Stock Gets Price Target Bump from Stifel Nicolaus

Key Points

• Stifel Nicolaus raised Generac’s price target from $285 to $290 while maintaining a “buy” rating, implying 36.71% upside from the prior close.
• Analyst sentiment remains favorable, with Generac carrying a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and an average price target of $295.65.
• Generac reported quarterly EPS of $2.91, exceeding estimates of $2.01, while revenue increased 10.3% year over year to $1.17 billion; institutional investors own 84.04% of the stock.

Generac (NYSE:GNRC - Get Free Report) had its target price boosted by Stifel Nicolaus from $285.00 to $290.00 in a report issued on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has a "buy" rating on the technology company's stock. Stifel Nicolaus' price objective suggests a potential upside of 36.71% from the company's previous close.

Several other equities research analysts have also recently weighed in on the stock. UBS Group reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Generac in a research report on Friday. Canaccord Genuity Group lifted their price target on Generac from $275.00 to $375.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, September 17th. DA Davidson set a $333.00 price target on shares of Generac in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Generac from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday, September 19th. Finally, Roth Capital raised their price objective on Generac from $214.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, September 17th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have given a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Generac presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $295.65.

Generac Trading Up 3.4%

Shares of Generac stock opened at $212.13 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $12.52 billion, a PE ratio of 48.88, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.76 and a beta of 1.91. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $200.49 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $225.99. 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 has a 52 week low of $134.80 and a 52 week high of $296.44.

Generac (NYSE:GNRC - Get Free Report) last announced 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 last year, the firm earned $1.65 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 10.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Generac will post 9.74 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Aaron Jagdfeld sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $182.21, for a total transaction of $911,050.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 549,528 shares in the company, valued at $100,129,496.88. This represents a 0.90% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Kyle Raabe sold 603 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $229.50, for a total transaction of $138,388.50. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 10,356 shares in the company, valued at $2,376,702. This represents a 5.50% 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. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 12,839 shares of company stock worth $2,519,973. 2.40% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Generac

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new stake in Generac in the second quarter worth about $1,170,960,000. Diamant Asset Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Generac by 19,433.0% during the 1st quarter. Diamant Asset Management Inc. now owns 666,075 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $130,104,000 after buying an additional 662,665 shares in the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE bought a new position in shares of Generac during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $175,942,000. Park Presidio Capital LLC purchased a new stake in Generac in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $158,140,000. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new stake in Generac during the 4th quarter worth approximately $68,590,000. 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.

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