General Electric (NYSE:GE) Stock Price Up 1.5% – Should You Buy?

General Electric (NYSE:GE) shares shot up 1.5% on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $174.43 and last traded at $174.26. 603,848 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 90% from the average session volume of 6,292,235 shares. The stock had previously closed at $171.76.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have issued reports on GE. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price target on General Electric from $212.00 to $235.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on General Electric from $205.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Citigroup upped their target price on shares of General Electric from $198.00 to $216.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Melius Research upped their price objective on shares of General Electric from $194.00 to $202.00 in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein raised their price target on General Electric from $201.00 to $225.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, October 14th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, General Electric presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $200.93.

General Electric Stock Down 1.1 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 1.13. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $180.47 and a 200 day simple moving average of $169.59. The company has a market cap of $193.57 billion, a PE ratio of 31.35, a PEG ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 1.19.

General Electric (NYSE:GE) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 22nd. The conglomerate reported $1.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.13 by $0.02. General Electric had a net margin of 11.48% and a return on equity of 18.93%. The company had revenue of $9.84 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.02 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.82 earnings per share. General Electric’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.8% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts predict that General Electric will post 4.22 EPS for the current year.

General Electric Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 25th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, September 26th were given a dividend of $0.28 per share. This represents a $1.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.63%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, September 26th. General Electric’s payout ratio is currently 19.68%.

Insider Activity at General Electric

In related news, SVP Riccardo Procacci sold 7,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $181.13, for a total transaction of $1,267,910.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 13,289 shares in the company, valued at $2,407,036.57. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.66% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Capital International Investors grew its stake in shares of General Electric by 9.9% in the 1st quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 59,100,643 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $10,373,936,000 after purchasing an additional 5,309,543 shares during the last quarter. Newport Trust Company LLC purchased a new stake in shares of General Electric during the second quarter worth $2,613,332,000. Capital World Investors lifted its holdings 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 valued at $2,237,930,000 after buying an additional 12,312,648 shares during the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc grew its position in General Electric by 5.8% in the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 8,405,731 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $1,336,257,000 after acquiring an additional 459,201 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board boosted its holdings in General Electric by 221.6% in the first quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 7,121,741 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $1,250,079,000 after purchasing an additional 4,907,530 shares in the last quarter. 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.