Generac (NYSE:GNRC) Downgraded to Hold Rating by Zacks Research

Zacks Research lowered shares of Generac (NYSE:GNRC) from a strong-buy rating to a hold rating in a research note released on Thursday morning,Zacks.com reports.

Other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports about the stock. Robert W. Baird set a $311.00 price objective on shares of Generac in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of Generac from $270.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 5th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Generac from $238.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Stephens restated an “overweight” rating and set a $290.00 price objective on shares of Generac in a research report on Thursday, May 21st. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group restated a “buy” rating on shares of Generac in a research report on Wednesday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have issued a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $276.88.

Generac Stock Performance

NYSE:GNRC opened at $261.39 on Thursday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $237.45 and its 200-day moving average price is $197.55. The company has a current ratio of 2.03, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47. The company has a market cap of $15.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 81.94, a P/E/G ratio of 2.60 and a beta of 1.93. Generac has a twelve month low of $123.66 and a twelve month high of $294.18.

Generac (NYSE:GNRC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The technology company reported $1.80 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.33 by $0.47. Generac had a net margin of 4.37% and a return on equity of 15.45%. The firm had revenue of $1.06 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.05 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.26 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Generac will post 8.91 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Generac

In other Generac news, CEO Aaron Jagdfeld sold 5,000 shares of Generac stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $272.18, for a total transaction of $1,360,900.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 564,528 shares in the company, valued at $153,653,231.04. This trade represents a 0.88% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing 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. 2.40% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Generac

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. DAVENPORT & Co LLC increased its position in shares of Generac by 4.4% during the fourth quarter. DAVENPORT & Co LLC now owns 387,082 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $53,190,000 after acquiring an additional 16,229 shares during the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Generac by 2.6% during the third quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 597,559 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $100,031,000 after acquiring an additional 15,280 shares during the last quarter. Kayne Anderson Capital Advisors LP acquired a new position in shares of Generac in the third quarter valued at approximately $2,159,000. Private Advisory Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of Generac by 26.2% in the fourth quarter. Private Advisory Group LLC now owns 58,781 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $8,016,000 after purchasing an additional 12,191 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Lighthouse Investment Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Generac by 556.7% in the third quarter. Lighthouse Investment Partners LLC now owns 51,903 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $8,689,000 after purchasing an additional 43,999 shares in the last quarter. 84.04% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.