General Electric (NYSE:GE) Earns Hold Rating from Analysts at StockNews.com

StockNews.com started coverage on shares of General Electric (NYSE:GE) in a report published on Monday morning. The firm issued a hold rating on the conglomerate’s stock.

Several other brokerages have also recently issued reports on GE. Barclays dropped their target price on shares of General Electric from $181.00 to $175.00 and set an overweight rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on shares of General Electric from $200.00 to $165.00 and set an overweight rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 4th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on shares of General Electric from $165.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a report on Wednesday, April 24th. Oppenheimer restated a market perform rating on shares of General Electric in a report on Tuesday, March 5th. Finally, Citigroup raised their price target on shares of General Electric from $120.43 to $186.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a report on Thursday, April 25th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, General Electric presently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $172.29.

General Electric Trading Up 1.3 %

NYSE GE opened at $164.49 on Monday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $161.02 and its 200-day moving average price is $136.80. The company has a current ratio of 1.17, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63. The stock has a market cap of $180.05 billion, a PE ratio of 53.93, a PEG ratio of 2.90 and a beta of 1.29. General Electric has a 12 month low of $77.93 and a 12 month high of $166.07.

General Electric (NYSE:GE) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, April 23rd. The conglomerate reported $0.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.65 by $0.17. General Electric had a net margin of 5.05% and a return on equity of 12.54%. The company had revenue of $16.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $15.25 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.27 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 11.1% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast that General Electric will post 3.93 earnings per share for the current year.

General Electric Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 25th. Investors of record on Monday, April 15th were given a $0.28 dividend. This is a positive change from General Electric’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.08. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.68%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, April 12th. General Electric’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 36.72%.

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On General Electric

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in GE. Halpern Financial Inc. grew its stake in General Electric by 968.4% in the 4th quarter. Halpern Financial Inc. now owns 203 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 184 shares during the period. Criterion Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in General Electric in the 4th quarter valued at $27,000. CGC Financial Services LLC grew its stake in General Electric by 90.2% in the 4th quarter. CGC Financial Services LLC now owns 232 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 110 shares during the period. Capital Analysts LLC grew its stake in General Electric by 55.8% in the 4th quarter. Capital Analysts LLC now owns 243 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 87 shares during the period. Finally, Horrell Capital Management Inc. acquired a new stake in General Electric in the 1st quarter valued at $44,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.