General Electric (NYSE:GE) Trading Up 0.6% – Here’s Why

Shares of General Electric (NYSE:GE) shot up 0.6% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $183.67 and last traded at $183.64. 1,045,571 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 82% from the average session volume of 5,841,966 shares. The stock had previously closed at $182.45.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on GE shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their target price on General Electric from $235.00 to $228.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 2nd. Northcoast Research upgraded shares of General Electric from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $205.00 target price for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of General Electric from $190.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Bank of America boosted their price objective on shares of General Electric from $200.00 to $225.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Finally, Redburn Atlantic started coverage on General Electric in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $250.00 target price on the stock. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $213.33.

General Electric Price Performance

The company has a current ratio of 1.09, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.88. The stock has a market cap of $195.21 billion, a PE ratio of 30.36, a P/E/G ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 1.04. The company’s 50 day moving average is $196.12 and its 200-day moving average is $186.50.

General Electric (NYSE:GE) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 23rd. The conglomerate reported $1.32 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.05 by $0.27. General Electric had a return on equity of 22.19% and a net margin of 14.31%. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that General Electric will post 5.4 earnings per share for the current year.

General Electric Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 25th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 10th will be paid a dividend of $0.36 per share. This represents a $1.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.79%. This is an increase from General Electric’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 10th. General Electric’s dividend payout ratio is 24.04%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On General Electric

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in General Electric by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 89,815,318 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $14,980,297,000 after acquiring an additional 410,172 shares during the period. FMR LLC raised its stake in shares of General Electric by 1.5% during the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 66,823,968 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $11,145,570,000 after purchasing an additional 965,012 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of General Electric by 2.3% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 23,117,418 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $3,846,587,000 after buying an additional 529,457 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in General Electric in the fourth quarter worth approximately $2,375,439,000. Finally, Northern Trust Corp boosted its stake in General Electric by 5.8% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 10,046,867 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $1,675,717,000 after buying an additional 553,104 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 74.77% of the company’s stock.

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.