Generac (NYSE:GNRC) Hits New 12-Month High – Still a Buy?

Generac Holdings Inc. (NYSE:GNRC) shares hit a new 52-week high during trading on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $229.61 and last traded at $228.4470, with a volume of 222600 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $224.45.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Robert W. Baird set a $292.00 price objective on Generac in a research note on Thursday, February 12th. Zacks Research lowered shares of Generac from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. Canaccord Genuity Group set a $275.00 price objective on shares of Generac in a research note on Thursday, February 12th. Citigroup upgraded shares of Generac from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $207.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 8th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Generac in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $220.19.

Generac Trading Down 0.2%

The company has a market cap of $13.37 billion, a PE ratio of 85.05, a P/E/G ratio of 1.73 and a beta of 1.85. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $165.39 and its 200-day moving average is $171.46. 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 (NYSE:GNRC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 11th. The technology company reported $1.61 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.81 by ($0.20). Generac had a return on equity of 14.55% and a net margin of 3.79%.The company had revenue of $1.09 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.16 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $2.80 EPS. The company’s revenue was down 11.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Generac Holdings Inc. will post 8 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Generac

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of GNRC. NewEdge Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Generac by 6.2% in the first quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 2,439 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $309,000 after acquiring an additional 142 shares during the period. Woodline Partners LP raised its stake in Generac by 40.9% in the first quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 5,036 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $638,000 after buying an additional 1,463 shares in the last quarter. TD Asset Management Inc lifted its holdings in Generac by 3.0% during the second quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 10,874 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $1,557,000 after buying an additional 315 shares during the period. Koshinski Asset Management Inc. bought a new stake in Generac during the 2nd quarter valued at $234,000. Finally, VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al purchased a new position in shares of Generac in the 2nd quarter valued at $2,351,000. 84.04% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.