General Electric (NYSE:GE) Trading 1.1% Higher – Should You Buy?

General Electric (NYSE:GE)’s stock price was up 1.1% during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $206.80 and last traded at $207.44. Approximately 726,447 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 87% from the average daily volume of 5,649,015 shares. The stock had previously closed at $205.22.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on GE shares. Northcoast Research began coverage on General Electric in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. They issued a “neutral” rating on the stock. Melius Research boosted their price objective on shares of General Electric from $194.00 to $202.00 in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their target price on shares of General Electric from $235.00 to $228.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of General Electric from $190.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $200.00 price objective on shares of General Electric in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $208.73.

General Electric Stock Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $224.09 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.82, a PEG ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 1.22. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $180.18 and its 200 day simple moving average is $178.28. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.88, a current ratio of 1.09 and a quick ratio of 0.81.

General Electric (NYSE:GE) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 23rd. The conglomerate reported $1.32 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.05 by $0.27. General Electric had a net margin of 14.31% and a return on equity of 22.19%. Research analysts expect that General Electric will post 5.39 EPS for the current fiscal year.

General Electric Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, January 27th. Investors of record on Friday, December 27th were paid a $0.28 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 27th. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.54%. General Electric’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 18.70%.

Insider Buying and Selling at General Electric

In other General Electric news, SVP Russell Stokes sold 15,550 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $178.29, for a total transaction of $2,772,409.50. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 148,857 shares in the company, valued at $26,539,714.53. This represents a 9.46 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.66% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On General Electric

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Toth Financial Advisory Corp acquired a new stake in shares of General Electric in the 3rd quarter valued at $25,000. Valley Wealth Managers Inc. acquired a new stake in General Electric in the third quarter valued at about $25,000. O Brien Wealth Partners LLC bought a new position in General Electric in the third quarter valued at about $27,000. Hager Investment Management Services LLC acquired a new position in General Electric during the fourth quarter worth about $27,000. Finally, Peterson Financial Group Inc. bought a new position in shares of General Electric in the third quarter worth about $28,000. 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.