GE Vernova (NYSE:GEV) Shares Down 4.9% After Analyst Downgrade

GE Vernova Inc. (NYSE:GEV) shares traded down 4.9% on Tuesday after BMO Capital Markets lowered their price target on the stock from $471.00 to $420.00. BMO Capital Markets currently has an outperform rating on the stock. GE Vernova traded as low as $294.45 and last traded at $300.38. 2,102,544 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 46% from the average session volume of 3,919,893 shares. The stock had previously closed at $315.98.

Several other analysts have also recently commented on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on shares of GE Vernova from $446.00 to $500.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Barclays dropped their price objective on GE Vernova from $487.00 to $427.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday. William Blair reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of GE Vernova in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Truist Financial lifted their price objective on shares of GE Vernova from $420.00 to $470.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, Baird R W raised shares of GE Vernova to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-one have given a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $347.83.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On GE Vernova

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. FMR LLC boosted its holdings in shares of GE Vernova by 3.4% in the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 24,861,833 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,177,803,000 after buying an additional 814,155 shares during the last quarter. Capital International Investors lifted its stake in GE Vernova by 25.3% in the 4th quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 14,854,297 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,886,164,000 after purchasing an additional 2,994,660 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its holdings in GE Vernova by 1.1% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 10,434,917 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,660,695,000 after purchasing an additional 118,184 shares during the period. Mountaineer Partners Management LLC acquired a new position in GE Vernova during the third quarter worth approximately $2,507,296,000. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in GE Vernova by 3.5% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 5,790,051 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,898,814,000 after buying an additional 195,828 shares during the period.

GE Vernova Price Performance

The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $363.25 and a 200-day moving average price of $307.25. The company has a market capitalization of $82.33 billion and a price-to-earnings ratio of 53.77.

GE Vernova (NYSE:GEV) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The company reported $1.73 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.30 by ($0.57). GE Vernova had a net margin of 4.44% and a return on equity of 6.70%. The business had revenue of $10.56 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.70 billion. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.1% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts forecast that GE Vernova Inc. will post 6.59 earnings per share for the current year.

GE Vernova Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, January 28th. Investors of record on Friday, December 20th were paid a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 20th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.34%. GE Vernova’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 17.99%.

GE Vernova announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback program on Tuesday, December 10th that authorizes the company to buyback $6.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to repurchase up to 6.7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are usually a sign that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

GE Vernova Company Profile

GE Vernova LLC, an energy business company, generates electricity. It operates under three segments: Power, Wind, and Electrification. The Power segments generates and sells electricity through hydro, gas, nuclear, and steam power. Wind segment engages in the manufacturing and sale of wind turbine blades; and Electrification segment provides grid solutions, power conversion, solar, and storage solutions.