Short Interest in General Electric (NYSE:GE) Rises By 36.3%

General Electric (NYSE:GE) saw a large increase in short interest in February. As of February 28th, there was short interest totalling 15,670,000 shares, an increase of 36.3% from the February 13th total of 11,500,000 shares. Approximately 1.5% of the shares of the stock are short sold. Based on an average trading volume of 5,440,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.9 days.

General Electric Stock Down 1.1 %

GE stock traded down $2.27 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $199.76. 907,186 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 5,184,209. The stock has a market cap of $214.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.35, a P/E/G ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 1.19. The company has a quick ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 1.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.88. General Electric has a fifty-two week low of $133.99 and a fifty-two week high of $212.19. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $196.14 and its 200 day moving average price is $184.20.

General Electric (NYSE:GE) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 23rd. The conglomerate reported $1.32 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 research analysts predict that General Electric will post 5.4 EPS for the current fiscal year.

General Electric Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 25th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 10th will be paid a $0.36 dividend. This represents a $1.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.72%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 10th. This is an increase from General Electric’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. General Electric’s payout ratio is presently 24.04%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On General Electric

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of GE. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of General Electric in the 4th quarter worth approximately $2,375,439,000. Jennison Associates LLC boosted its stake in shares of General Electric by 91.8% in the 3rd quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 7,771,759 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $1,465,598,000 after buying an additional 3,719,894 shares during the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC boosted its stake in shares of General Electric by 87.7% in the 4th quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 3,581,799 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $597,412,000 after buying an additional 1,673,365 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of General Electric by 14.4% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 9,544,757 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $1,591,970,000 after buying an additional 1,204,910 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in shares of General Electric in the 4th quarter worth approximately $194,208,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 74.77% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on GE shares. Northcoast Research started coverage on General Electric in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. They set a “neutral” rating on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised 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. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on General Electric from $225.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. UBS Group raised their target price on General Electric from $215.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, 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 research report on Thursday, January 2nd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $211.31.

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.