ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc. Makes New $2.55 Million Investment in Generac Holdings Inc. $GNRC

Key Points

• ZWJ Investment Counsel initiated a new position in Generac (NYSE:GNRC), buying 18,728 shares valued at approximately $2.55 million in the fourth quarter per its 13F filing.
• Generac CFO York A. Ragen sold 24,362 shares on Feb. 25 for about $5.74 million, cutting his stake by roughly 15% and leaving insiders with 2.70% ownership.
• Generac missed quarterly estimates (EPS $1.61 vs. $1.81; revenue down 11.6% year-over-year), yet analysts maintain a “Moderate Buy” consensus with an average price target near $229.94.

ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc. purchased a new position in Generac Holdings Inc. (NYSE:GNRC - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm purchased 18,728 shares of the technology company's stock, valued at approximately $2,554,000.

Other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB grew its stake in shares of Generac by 21.7% in the 3rd quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 331 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $55,000 after buying an additional 59 shares during the period. Sentry Investment Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Generac by 69.8% in the 3rd quarter. Sentry Investment Management LLC now owns 163 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 67 shares during the period. ORG Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of Generac by 24.7% in the 3rd quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 369 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $62,000 after buying an additional 73 shares during the period. Argent Trust Co grew its stake in Generac by 2.3% in the third quarter. Argent Trust Co now owns 3,272 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $548,000 after acquiring an additional 73 shares during the period. Finally, NewEdge Advisors LLC grew its stake in Generac by 2.7% in the third quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 2,749 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $460,000 after acquiring an additional 73 shares during the period. 84.04% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CFO York A. Ragen sold 24,362 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $235.61, for a total transaction of $5,739,930.82. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 137,182 shares in the company, valued at approximately $32,321,451.02. The trade was a 15.08% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Company insiders own 2.70% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have commented on GNRC. Citigroup cut Generac from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and raised their price objective for the company from $207.00 to $237.00 in a research note on Thursday, March 12th. Bank of America reduced their price target on shares of Generac from $260.00 to $248.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, March 26th. TD Cowen lifted their price target on shares of Generac from $220.00 to $255.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 12th. Canaccord Genuity Group lifted their price objective on shares of Generac from $275.00 to $300.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 1st. Finally, UBS Group reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $270.00 price objective on shares of Generac in a report on Friday, February 13th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $229.94.

Generac Stock Up 3.2%

Shares of NYSE:GNRC opened at $211.82 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $12.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 79.04, a PEG ratio of 1.45 and a beta of 1.78. The company has a quick ratio of 1.00, a current ratio of 2.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48. Generac Holdings Inc. has a 12-month low of $104.90 and a 12-month high of $241.09. The business's 50 day moving average is $207.77 and its 200 day moving average is $177.38.

Generac (NYSE:GNRC - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 11th. The technology company reported $1.61 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.81 by ($0.20). The firm had revenue of $1.09 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.16 billion. Generac had a return on equity of 14.55% and a net margin of 3.79%.Generac's revenue was down 11.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.80 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Generac Holdings Inc. will post 8 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.

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