With hurricane season already underway, people on the East Coast, particularly in Florida and the Gulf States, are reaching for their generators, reports Glenn Rogers, contributing editor to Internet Wealth Builder.
If you're not even worried about hurricanes and live in Texas, you're worried about the entire grid freezing and huddling in the dark for two weeks.
With climate change now an undeniable force, having back-up and independence from an increasingly shaky grid has become an important home accessory for many who have been experiencing power outages for the last several years.
One of the companies that is benefiting from this unfortunate trend is Generac (GNRC) and it’s located in Waukesha, Wisconsin.
The company started out providing power generation equipment for construction applications and residential power back-up. As time went by, it got into providing heavy industrial systems. More recently it has begun to add a large solar component to its offerings by way of backup batteries.
It is one of the essential elements of solar distribution because without storage you only have a daytime application which obviously doesn't help if the power goes out at midnight.
Last year the company entered the market for grid services, which involves distributed and energy optimization and control software that helps support the operational stability of the world's power grids.
If you are following the circuitous process of President Biden’s infrastructure plan you will note that billions of dollars are earmarked for strengthening our National Grid and supporting more localized micro power solutions. Additionally, the company has products that they design and manufacture.
These include light towers that provided temporary lighting for various end markets and a growing product line of outdoor power equipment for residential and commercial use. The company's products are widely distributed and can be found through national distributors or at your local Home Depot outlet.
Additionally, Generac has been very acquisitive and just last year acquired Chillicon Power. This moves it into the microinverter market and controller manufacturer Deep Sea Electronics, which further expands the product offering.
Before Generac broadened its product offerings, the stock performance was lumpy. The shares would spike during hurricane season or after a natural disaster, then pull back again until the next season. But the stock has jumped dramatically over the past year and a half, and it is an expensive proposition at this price.
However, given the company’s strong portfolio and growth profile it's hard to think of a better way to play both solar power and natural disasters than with a position in Generac.
The growth potential goes beyond the US. The business has not had the international growth you might have expected and so this is another opportunity for the business going forward.
This is a well-run high growth business in an expanding category. It is uniquely well positioned to benefit from a power-hungry world with an aging power grid getting in the way of deployment of electric vehicles and just day-to-day living.
Even at this level you can take a small position and add on any pullback. Action now: Buy, with a target of $500 per share.
