General Electric (NYSE:GE) Shares Gap Down – Here’s Why

Shares of General Electric (NYSE:GE) gapped down prior to trading on Tuesday . The stock had previously closed at $194.23, but opened at $184.50. General Electric shares last traded at $181.24, with a volume of 3,061,117 shares trading hands.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on shares of General Electric from $185.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, June 28th. Bank of America lifted their target price on General Electric from $180.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday. StockNews.com cut General Electric from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, July 29th. Citigroup upped their target price on shares of General Electric from $198.00 to $216.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, Melius Research lifted their price target on shares of General Electric from $194.00 to $202.00 in a research note on Tuesday. Two investment analysts have 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 a consensus price target of $200.93.

General Electric Stock Up 2.9 %

The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $179.51 and its 200-day simple moving average is $168.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 1.14 and a quick ratio of 0.85. The company has a market cap of $198.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 59.60, a P/E/G ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 1.18.

General Electric (NYSE:GE) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The conglomerate reported $1.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.13 by $0.02. General Electric had a return on equity of 16.07% and a net margin of 7.66%. The firm had revenue of $9.84 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.02 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.82 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 5.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that General Electric will post 4.2 earnings per share for the current year.

General Electric Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 25th. Investors of record on Thursday, September 26th will be given a $0.28 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, September 26th. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.62%. General Electric’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 36.72%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of GE. Studio Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of General Electric by 97.5% in the second quarter. Studio Investment Management LLC now owns 158 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 78 shares during the period. Toth Financial Advisory Corp purchased a new position in General Electric in the 3rd quarter valued at $25,000. O Brien Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new position in General Electric in the 3rd quarter valued at $27,000. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in General Electric during the 2nd quarter worth $31,000. Finally, Financial Connections Group Inc. purchased a new position in General Electric during the 2nd quarter worth $32,000. 74.77% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.