General Electric (NYSE:GE) Shares Up 1.6% – Should You Buy?

General Electric (NYSE:GE) shares traded up 1.6% during trading on Thursday . The company traded as high as $164.37 and last traded at $162.57. 970,844 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 84% from the average session volume of 6,117,005 shares. The stock had previously closed at $159.95.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

GE has been the topic of several analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on General Electric from $210.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Melius Research lifted their target price on shares of General Electric from $194.00 to $202.00 in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Sanford C. Bernstein increased their price target on General Electric from $201.00 to $225.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, October 14th. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price objective on General Electric from $210.00 to $200.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, Citigroup boosted their price target on General Electric from $198.00 to $216.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $201.93.

General Electric Stock Up 3.4 %

The company has a current ratio of 1.13, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95. The firm has a market cap of $178.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.07, a P/E/G ratio of 1.66 and a beta of 1.17. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $178.88 and a 200-day moving average price of $172.43.

General Electric (NYSE:GE) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The conglomerate reported $1.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.13 by $0.02. General Electric had a return on equity of 18.93% and a net margin of 11.48%. The business had revenue of $9.84 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.02 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.82 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 5.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts forecast that General Electric will post 4.24 EPS for the current fiscal year.

General Electric Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 27th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 27th will be given a dividend of $0.28 per share. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.68%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 27th. General Electric’s dividend payout ratio is presently 19.68%.

Insider Transactions at General Electric

In other General Electric news, SVP Russell Stokes sold 15,550 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, November 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $178.29, for a total transaction of $2,772,409.50. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 148,857 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $26,539,714.53. This trade represents a 9.46 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Riccardo Procacci sold 7,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $181.13, for a total transaction of $1,267,910.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 13,289 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,407,036.57. The trade was a 34.50 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.66% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On General Electric

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in GE. Tsfg LLC boosted its holdings in shares of General Electric by 12.8% in the 3rd quarter. Tsfg LLC now owns 485 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $92,000 after buying an additional 55 shares during the period. Strategic Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of General Electric by 2.6% during the 3rd quarter. Strategic Advisors LLC now owns 2,267 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $428,000 after purchasing an additional 58 shares during the period. Mitchell Mcleod Pugh & Williams Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of General Electric by 1.0% in the 3rd quarter. Mitchell Mcleod Pugh & Williams Inc. now owns 6,299 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $1,188,000 after purchasing an additional 60 shares during the last quarter. Allegheny Financial Group LTD boosted its position in General Electric by 1.4% during the 2nd quarter. Allegheny Financial Group LTD now owns 4,489 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $714,000 after purchasing an additional 61 shares during the period. Finally, Meridian Management Co. grew its stake in General Electric by 1.2% during the 3rd quarter. Meridian Management Co. now owns 5,153 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $972,000 after buying an additional 61 shares during the last quarter. 74.77% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other 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.