Al Root
Generac stock has been frustrating and difficult for investors to time. For years, shares have been whipsawed by storms, data-center developments, and problems with its own inventory.
The stock appears to be ready to buy, finally.
Baird analyst Mike Halloran upgraded shares of the standby generator company to Buy from Hold on Friday. His price target went to $199 from $215.
Generac shares were up 1% at $150.20, while the S&P 500 and Dow Jones Industrial Average were up 0.5% and 0.3%, respectively.
A ratings upgrade alongside a cut to the price target illustrates just how things have been going for Generac. Coming into Friday trading, shares were down about 5%. They were also down about 13% from the level Barron's recommended in September 2022. At that time, we believed increasing demand for backup power at homes would lead to a higher share price. It didn't. High dealer inventories choked off factory demand. Sales fell more than 10% in 2023 and haven't returned to 2022 levels in 2024 or 2025.
There have been many ups and downs. Shares were north of $200 in August. It's freefall to about $150 provides an opportunity "to get involved with a company that should see dynamic Ebitda growth in 2026/2027 [and beyond] from a variety of insular catalysts and is trading toward the lower end of its valuation range," wrote Halloran.
EBITDA is short for earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization. Wall Street sees Generac's Ebitda growing to $862 million in 2026 and $1 billion in 2027 from an expected $727 million in 2025, according to FactSet.
Recent performance could scare investors off, but the best time to own Generac is when sentiment is low, Halloran added. That makes now, when the home standby generator business is at a trough, a good time, or when there is another growth driver in the wings. That driver can be a backup power for things such as AI data centers.
He sees the stock going as high as $225 if things go well. The downside is only $130. That's $75 up and $20 down from recent levels, an attractive risk-reward for him.
"We are buyers," Halloran said.
His peers agree. Overall, 78% of analysts covering the stock rate share Buy, according to FactSet. The average Buy-rating ratio for stocks in the S&P 500 is about 55%. The average analyst price target for Generac shares is about $206.
Write to Al Root at allen.root@dowjones.com
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(END) Dow Jones Newswires
January 09, 2026 11:23 ET (16:23 GMT)
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