General Electric (NYSE:GE) Shares Gap Up Following Strong Earnings

Shares of General Electric (NYSE:GE) gapped up before the market opened on Tuesday after the company announced better than expected quarterly earnings. The stock had previously closed at $150.19, but opened at $157.83. General Electric shares last traded at $156.47, with a volume of 3,871,396 shares trading hands.

The conglomerate reported $0.82 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.65 by $0.17. The firm had revenue of $16.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $15.25 billion. General Electric had a net margin of 13.95% and a return on equity of 10.88%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.27 earnings per share.

General Electric Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 25th. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 15th will be issued a $0.28 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 12th. This is a boost from General Electric’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.08. This represents a $1.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.70%. General Electric’s dividend payout ratio is presently 13.38%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have issued reports on GE. Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on shares of General Electric from $165.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday. Vertical Research began coverage on shares of General Electric in a report on Thursday, April 4th. They set a “buy” rating and a $160.00 target price on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their target price on shares of General Electric from $195.00 to $180.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. TD Cowen upgraded shares of General Electric from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $175.00 to $180.00 in a report on Tuesday, April 9th. Finally, Bank of America increased their target price on shares of General Electric from $165.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, General Electric presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $167.29.

Insider Activity at General Electric

In related news, SVP Michael J. Holston sold 22,055 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $144.87, for a total value of $3,195,107.85. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 56,284 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,153,863.08. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, SVP Michael J. Holston sold 22,055 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $144.87, for a total value of $3,195,107.85. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 56,284 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,153,863.08. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, SVP Michael J. Holston sold 13,601 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $135.55, for a total transaction of $1,843,615.55. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 48,339 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,552,351.45. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.66% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On General Electric

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of GE. Walker Asset Management LLC increased its stake in General Electric by 1.7% during the first quarter. Walker Asset Management LLC now owns 4,111 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $722,000 after purchasing an additional 70 shares during the period. BKM Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in General Electric by 2.6% during the first quarter. BKM Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,821 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $495,000 after purchasing an additional 72 shares during the period. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. grew its position in shares of General Electric by 1.7% during the fourth quarter. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. now owns 4,316 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $550,000 after buying an additional 74 shares in the last quarter. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC grew its position in shares of General Electric by 1.2% during the fourth quarter. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC now owns 6,377 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $814,000 after buying an additional 75 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Forte Capital LLC ADV grew its position in shares of General Electric by 2.1% during the fourth quarter. Forte Capital LLC ADV now owns 4,067 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $519,000 after buying an additional 83 shares in the last quarter. 74.77% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

General Electric Stock Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $174.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.02, a P/E/G ratio of 2.96 and a beta of 1.29. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 1.18 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $160.20 and a 200 day moving average price of $135.55.

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.