Fifth Third Bancorp Boosts Position in Generac Holdings Inc. $GNRC

Key Points

• Fifth Third Bancorp increased its stake in Generac Holdings by 369.7% in the first quarter, ending with 14,532 shares worth about $2.84 million.
• Generac’s stock was down 0.8% to $213.29, but the company recently posted strong quarterly results, with EPS of $1.80 beating estimates and revenue rising 12.5% year over year.
• Institutional ownership remains heavy, with investors holding about 84.04% of shares, while analysts currently rate the stock a Moderate Buy with a consensus price target of $284.18.

Fifth Third Bancorp grew its holdings in shares of Generac Holdings Inc. (NYSE:GNRC - Free Report) by 369.7% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 14,532 shares of the technology company's stock after purchasing an additional 11,438 shares during the quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp's holdings in Generac were worth $2,838,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Invesco Ltd. lifted its position in shares of Generac by 49.9% during the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 2,423,971 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $330,557,000 after buying an additional 806,430 shares in the last quarter. Diamant Asset Management Inc. increased its holdings in Generac by 19,433.0% in the 1st quarter. Diamant Asset Management Inc. now owns 666,075 shares of the technology company's stock worth $130,104,000 after acquiring an additional 662,665 shares in the last quarter. Bank of Montreal Can increased its holdings in Generac by 1,141.1% in the 4th quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 695,600 shares of the technology company's stock worth $94,859,000 after acquiring an additional 639,551 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its stake in Generac by 127.0% during the 4th quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 959,337 shares of the technology company's stock worth $130,825,000 after acquiring an additional 536,732 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new stake in Generac during the 4th quarter worth approximately $68,590,000. Institutional investors own 84.04% of the company's stock.

Generac Stock Down 0.8%

GNRC stock opened at $213.29 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $12.56 billion, a PE ratio of 66.86, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.01 and a beta of 1.89. Generac Holdings Inc. has a 52 week low of $134.80 and a 52 week high of $296.44. The company has a quick ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 2.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $260.99 and a 200 day moving average of $221.26.

Generac (NYSE:GNRC - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 29th. The technology company reported $1.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.33 by $0.47. The firm had revenue of $1.06 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.05 billion. Generac had a return on equity of 15.45% and a net margin of 4.37%.The company's revenue for the quarter was up 12.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.26 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that Generac Holdings Inc. will post 8.91 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Generac

In other news, insider Norman P. Taffe sold 550 shares of Generac stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $256.00, for a total value of $140,800.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 15,808 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,046,848. The trade was a 3.36% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Aaron Jagdfeld sold 5,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, June 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $272.18, for a total transaction of $1,360,900.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 564,528 shares of the company's stock, valued at $153,653,231.04. The trade was a 0.88% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold a total of 6,100 shares of company stock valued at $1,651,443 in the last ninety days. 2.40% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently weighed in on GNRC shares. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Generac from $238.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, May 1st. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Generac from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, May 9th. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Generac from a "hold (c)" rating to a "hold (c-)" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 14th. Roth Capital restated a "neutral" rating and issued a $257.00 target price on shares of Generac in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, Stephens reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and set a $290.00 price target on shares of Generac in a research note on Thursday, May 21st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have issued a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $284.18.

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.

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