General Electric (NYSE:GE) Trading Up 1.2% – Should You Buy?

General Electric (NYSE:GE)’s share price rose 1.2% during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $212.19 and last traded at $210.72. Approximately 848,316 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 84% from the average daily volume of 5,470,866 shares. The stock had previously closed at $208.27.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

GE has been the topic of several recent research reports. Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of General Electric from $216.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Northcoast Research began coverage on shares of General Electric in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. They issued a “neutral” rating for the company. Bank of America raised their price objective on shares of General Electric from $200.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their price objective on shares of General Electric from $235.00 to $228.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 2nd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of General Electric from $225.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $211.31.

General Electric Stock Up 0.8 %

The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $183.40 and its 200-day simple moving average is $179.67. The company has a market cap of $225.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.05, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 1.22. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.88, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a current ratio of 1.09.

General Electric (NYSE:GE) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 23rd. The conglomerate reported $1.32 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.05 by $0.27. General Electric had a net margin of 14.31% and a return on equity of 22.19%. Sell-side analysts expect that General Electric will post 5.39 earnings per share for the current year.

General Electric Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 25th. Investors of record on Monday, March 10th will be issued a $0.36 dividend. This is a boost from General Electric’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. This represents a $1.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.69%. General Electric’s dividend payout ratio is currently 18.70%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On General Electric

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of GE. Norges Bank bought a new stake in General Electric in the fourth quarter worth $2,375,439,000. Jennison Associates LLC boosted its holdings in General Electric by 91.8% in the third quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 7,771,759 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $1,465,598,000 after purchasing an additional 3,719,894 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in General Electric by 21,069.8% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 3,173,142 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $598,391,000 after purchasing an additional 3,158,153 shares in the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC boosted its holdings in General Electric by 87.7% in the fourth quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 3,581,799 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $597,412,000 after purchasing an additional 1,673,365 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. lifted its position in General Electric by 14.4% during the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 9,544,757 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $1,591,970,000 after acquiring an additional 1,204,910 shares during the last quarter. 74.77% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

General Electric Company Profile

General Electric Company, doing business as GE Aerospace, designs and produces commercial and defense aircraft engines, integrated engine components, electric power, and mechanical aircraft systems. It also offers aftermarket services to support its products. The company operates in the United States, Europe, China, Asia, the Americas, the Middle East, and Africa.