Hurricane Matthew May Have Just Put Massive Money in the Pocket of One Company
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Version 0 of 1. Generator maker Generac (GNRC) may be about to clean up from Hurricane Matthew. The deadly hurricane that wreaked havoc in the U.S. from Florida to North Carolina has the potential to generate $45 million to $65 million in revenue and 15 cents a share to 30 cents a share in earnings for Generac, wrote Keybanc analyst Jeffrey Hammond in a note issued Thursday. Hammond sees Generac benefiting from some people having bought generators ahead of Hurricane Matthew, while others look to make a purchase after as to be prepared for a potential power outage should another horrible storm arise. "We received strong early indications around Hurricane Matthew, which we view as a key awareness event considering Matthew was the first significant storm to hit the U.S. in four years," Hammond said. Genarac is no stranger to cleaning up when a major storm hits. Sales of residential products such as portable and stand-by generators, and power washers, surged 28% in the fourth quarter of 2012 in the wake of Hurricane Sandy. All told, Hurricane Matthew likely caused $10 billion in damage, according to an estimate from Goldman Sachs. The estimate would make Hurricane Matthew the 22nd most-damaging storm since World War II, Goldman estimated. By comparison, Hurricane Sandy, the second-worst storm, triggered $50 billion to $60 billion in total damage in 2012. Although it looks as if Hurricane Matthew didn't cause as much damage as Sandy, using the historic 2012 storm as a benchmark offers investors a snapshop into how other home-improvement companies besides Generac may be poised to soon benefit. |