Generac (NYSE:GNRC) Stock Jumps 3.9% - Time to Buy?

Key Points

• Generac shares rose 3.9% to about $205.82, though trading volume was 89% below the average session volume.
• Analysts maintain a generally positive outlook, with a “Moderate Buy” consensus and an average price target of $295.40, well above the current price.
• Generac beat quarterly earnings expectations with EPS of $2.91 versus $2.01 forecast, while revenue increased 10.3% year over year to $1.17 billion.

Generac Holdings Inc. (NYSE:GNRC - Get Free Report)'s share price was up 3.9% on Friday. The stock traded as high as $204.90 and last traded at $205.8170. 124,675 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 89% from the average session volume of 1,085,083 shares. The stock had previously closed at $198.05.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the company. Needham & Company LLC reissued a "buy" rating and set a $283.00 price target on shares of Generac in a research report on Thursday, September 17th. Weiss Ratings upgraded Generac from a "hold (c-)" rating to a "hold (c)" rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. TD Cowen reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Generac in a report on Monday, July 20th. Barclays cut their price target on Generac from $285.00 to $278.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, July 30th. Finally, Robert W. Baird set a $305.00 price objective on shares of Generac in a report on Thursday, July 30th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have given a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $295.40.

Generac Stock Performance

The stock has a market cap of $12.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 47.98, a P/E/G ratio of 1.76 and a beta of 1.91. The company has a quick ratio of 1.00, a current ratio of 2.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $200.85 and a 200 day simple moving average of $226.03.

Generac (NYSE:GNRC - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The technology company reported $2.91 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 the consensus estimate of $1.18 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.65 EPS. The firm's revenue was up 10.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Generac Holdings Inc. will post 9.74 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Generac

In other Generac news, insider Kyle Raabe sold 603 shares of Generac stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $229.50, for a total value of $138,388.50. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 10,356 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,376,702. The trade was a 5.50% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 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 dated Monday, August 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $194.89, for a total transaction of $974,450.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 554,528 shares in the company, valued at $108,071,961.92. This represents a 0.89% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 12,839 shares of company stock valued at $2,519,973. 2.40% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Generac

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Callan Family Office LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Generac in the second quarter valued at about $3,033,000. Hsbc Holdings PLC grew its position in shares of Generac by 42.8% in the fourth quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 93,080 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $12,711,000 after purchasing an additional 27,893 shares in the last quarter. Patton Fund Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Generac in the first quarter valued at approximately $3,797,000. Virtu Financial LLC boosted its stake in Generac by 89.2% during the fourth quarter. Virtu Financial LLC now owns 30,377 shares of the technology company's stock worth $4,143,000 after buying an additional 14,321 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Maverick Capital Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of Generac in the 1st quarter worth $1,267,000. 84.04% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Generac

Generac Holdings Inc is an energy technology company that designs and manufactures power generation and energy management products. Its portfolio includes residential standby generators, portable generators, commercial and industrial generator systems, and related transfer switches, controls and monitoring technologies.

The company also offers clean energy and electrification solutions, including battery energy storage systems, solar-related products, electric vehicle chargers and load-management technologies.

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