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

Shares of General Electric (NYSE:GE) traded 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 were traded 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 Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have commented on GE. Bank of America lifted their price objective on shares of General Electric from $200.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $200.00 target price on shares of General Electric in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Redburn Atlantic initiated coverage on General Electric in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. They set a “buy” rating and a $250.00 price target on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on General Electric from $203.00 to $212.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, Northcoast Research raised General Electric from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $205.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $213.33.

General Electric Stock Performance

The company’s 50-day moving average price is $197.13 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $186.58. The company has a market cap of $197.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 1.04. The company has a current ratio of 1.09, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.88.

General Electric (NYSE:GE) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, January 23rd. The conglomerate reported $1.32 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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, equities analysts forecast that General Electric will post 5.4 earnings per share for the current year.

General Electric Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 25th. Investors of record on Monday, March 10th will be paid a $0.36 dividend. This is a positive change from General Electric’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 10th. This represents a $1.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.78%. General Electric’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 24.04%.

Institutional Trading of General Electric

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Virtu Financial LLC purchased a new stake in General Electric in the 3rd quarter worth about $3,400,000. Westside Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of General Electric by 6.0% in the third quarter. Westside Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,245 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $235,000 after purchasing an additional 70 shares in the last quarter. Diamant Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of General Electric by 2.7% during the third quarter. Diamant Asset Management Inc. now owns 6,098 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $1,150,000 after purchasing an additional 158 shares during the period. Morse Asset Management Inc grew its position in General Electric by 30.2% during the third quarter. Morse Asset Management Inc now owns 18,616 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $3,511,000 after purchasing an additional 4,320 shares in the last quarter. Finally, SkyView Investment Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of General Electric by 1.9% during the 3rd quarter. SkyView Investment Advisors LLC now owns 12,240 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $2,308,000 after buying an additional 232 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other 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.