General Electric (NYSE:GE) Receives Average Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Brokerages

General Electric (NYSE:GE) has earned an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the fourteen analysts that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold recommendation and thirteen have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year price target among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $190.38.

A number of research firms recently commented on GE. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on General Electric from $148.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, May 13th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on General Electric from $192.00 to $205.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 24th. UBS Group increased their price target on General Electric from $201.00 to $209.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, July 1st. StockNews.com downgraded General Electric from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, July 29th. Finally, Barclays increased their price objective on General Electric from $175.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 30th.

Insider Buying and Selling at General Electric

In other General Electric news, SVP Russell Stokes sold 45,309 shares of General Electric stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $162.82, for a total transaction of $7,377,211.38. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 112,958 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $18,391,821.56. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.66% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Capital World Investors grew its position in shares of General Electric by 2,818.1% during the 1st quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 12,749,560 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $2,237,930,000 after buying an additional 12,312,648 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of General Electric during the 4th quarter worth about $1,193,159,000. Capital International Investors grew its position in shares of General Electric by 9.9% during the 1st quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 59,100,643 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $10,373,936,000 after buying an additional 5,309,543 shares during the period. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board grew its position in shares of General Electric by 221.6% in the 1st quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 7,121,741 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $1,250,079,000 after purchasing an additional 4,907,530 shares during the period. Finally, WCM Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of General Electric in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $520,488,000. 74.77% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

General Electric Price Performance

GE stock opened at $166.93 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.14, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95. General Electric has a one year low of $84.42 and a one year high of $177.20. The firm has a market capitalization of $182.72 billion, a PE ratio of 54.73, a P/E/G ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 1.21. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $162.67 and a two-hundred day moving average of $159.47.

General Electric (NYSE:GE) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, July 23rd. The conglomerate reported $1.20 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.99 by $0.21. The company had revenue of $9.09 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.44 billion. General Electric had a return on equity of 16.07% and a net margin of 7.66%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 3.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.68 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that General Electric will post 4.15 earnings per share for the current year.

General Electric Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 25th. Investors of record on Thursday, July 11th were given a $0.28 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, July 11th. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.67%. General Electric’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 36.72%.

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.