General Electric (NYSE:GE) Reaches New 1-Year High – Still a Buy?

General Electric (NYSE:GE) hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Thursday . The company traded as high as $211.42 and last traded at $209.71, with a volume of 4593175 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $208.82.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on GE. UBS Group boosted their price target on General Electric from $215.00 to $235.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their target price on General Electric from $235.00 to $228.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 2nd. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and set a $200.00 target price on shares of General Electric in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Citigroup upped their target price on General Electric from $216.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on General Electric from $190.00 to $210.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, General Electric has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $208.73.

General Electric Stock 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 firm has a 50-day moving average of $180.75 and a 200-day moving average of $178.56. The stock has a market capitalization of $225.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.01, a P/E/G ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 1.22.

General Electric (NYSE:GE) last released its earnings results on Thursday, January 23rd. The conglomerate reported $1.32 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 5.39 earnings per share for the current year.

General Electric Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, January 27th. Investors of record on Friday, December 27th were given a $0.28 dividend. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.53%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 27th. General Electric’s payout ratio is 18.70%.

Insider Activity at General Electric

In other General Electric news, SVP Russell Stokes sold 15,550 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $178.29, for a total transaction of $2,772,409.50. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 148,857 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $26,539,714.53. This trade represents a 9.46 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 0.66% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On General Electric

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in GE. Toth Financial Advisory Corp acquired a new stake in General Electric during the 3rd quarter worth about $25,000. Valley Wealth Managers Inc. acquired a new stake in General Electric during the 3rd quarter worth about $25,000. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC grew its position in General Electric by 133.3% during the 4th quarter. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC now owns 147 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 84 shares during the period. O Brien Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of General Electric during the 3rd quarter worth about $27,000. Finally, Hager Investment Management Services LLC purchased a new stake in shares of General Electric during the 4th quarter worth about $27,000. 74.77% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About General Electric

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.