Why Generac Holdings Shares Charged Higher

Although we don't believe in timing the market or panicking over market movements, we do like to keep an eye on big changes -- just in case they're material to our investing thesis.

What: Shares of generator and power products manufacturer Generac Holdings (Nasdaq: GNRC  ) charged higher by as much as 15% following the distribution of a special dividend to shareholders.

So what: In late May, Generac announced that it had replaced an older $575 million loan facility with $900 million of secured term loans at a lower interest rate. In accordance with the money the company will be saving in interest expenses, Generac chose to declare, at that time, a one-time special cash dividend of $6 per share. The dividend was to be funded by a mixture of cash on hand and debt and was paid out earlier this morning.

Now what: Special dividends are nice, but they aren't a reason to get too excited. The amount of the dividend is simply removed from a stock's share price and, as with a stock split, the sum of what you have is still the same. I'd rather Generac have declared a smaller quarterly dividend instead, which would have attracted income-seeking investors. Instead, Generac chose to finance the deal with debt, which is a questionable decision in my view. I like Generac's products and feel they border on being a necessary item, but today's move higher because of the special dividend seems a bit overdone.

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