Generac (NYSE:GNRC) Downgraded to "Hold" Rating by Wall Street Zen

Key Points

• Generac has been downgraded from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating by Wall Street Zen, indicating a change in analyst sentiment towards the company's stock.
• Despite the downgrade, Generac has a substantial number of "buy" ratings from other analysts, with a current average price target of $170.06.
• Generac reported earnings of $1.65 per share for the last quarter, exceeding expectations and showcasing a revenue increase of 6.3% year-over-year.

Generac (NYSE:GNRC - Get Free Report) was downgraded by analysts at Wall Street Zen from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Saturday.

GNRC has been the topic of a number of other reports. Guggenheim raised shares of Generac from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $190.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, July 29th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Generac from $128.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. UBS Group reissued a "buy" rating and set a $220.00 price objective (up from $200.00) on shares of Generac in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on shares of Generac from $195.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group reduced their target price on shares of Generac from $200.00 to $180.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $170.06.

Generac Price Performance

Shares of GNRC opened at $198.50 on Friday. Generac has a fifty-two week low of $99.50 and a fifty-two week high of $203.25. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $156.45 and its 200 day moving average price is $137.35. The company has a market cap of $11.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.97, a PEG ratio of 1.59 and a beta of 1.68. The company has a quick ratio of 0.88, a current ratio of 2.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50.

Generac (NYSE:GNRC - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The technology company reported $1.65 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.33 by $0.32. Generac had a net margin of 7.91% and a return on equity of 19.14%. The firm had revenue of $1.06 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.03 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.35 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 6.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts forecast that Generac will post 8 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Generac

In other news, CEO Aaron Jagdfeld sold 5,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $142.40, for a total transaction of $712,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 562,966 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $80,166,358.40. The trade was a 0.88% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 2.70% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Generac

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in GNRC. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB increased its holdings in shares of Generac by 81.1% in the 2nd quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 172 shares of the technology company's stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 77 shares during the period. MUFG Securities EMEA plc bought a new position in shares of Generac during the 2nd quarter valued at about $25,000. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. purchased a new stake in Generac during the first quarter valued at about $28,000. Creative Capital Management Investments LLC lifted its stake in Generac by 740.7% during the second quarter. Creative Capital Management Investments LLC now owns 227 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Legend Financial Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in Generac during the second quarter valued at about $36,000. 84.04% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Generac

Generac Holdings Inc designs, manufactures, and distributes various energy technology products and solution worldwide. The company offers residential automatic standby generators, automatic transfer switch, air-cooled engine residential standby generators, and liquid-cooled engine generators; Mobile Link, a remote monitoring system for home standby generators; residential storage solution, which consists of a system of batteries, an inverter, photovoltaic optimizers, power electronic controls, and other components; smart home solutions, such as smart thermostats and a suite of home monitoring products.

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