General Electric (NYSE:GE) Trading Up 0.4% – Should You Buy?

Shares of General Electric (NYSE:GE) traded up 0.4% on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $188.73 and last traded at $188.30. 440,238 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 93% from the average session volume of 6,444,870 shares. The stock had previously closed at $187.47.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on shares of General Electric from $175.00 to $190.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 24th. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of General Electric from $201.00 to $209.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, July 1st. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on General Electric from $185.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, June 28th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on General Electric from $192.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 24th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of General Electric from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, July 29th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $193.00.

General Electric Stock Up 0.7 %

The business has a 50 day moving average of $174.24 and a two-hundred day moving average of $166.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 1.14. The stock has a market capitalization of $206.74 billion, a PE ratio of 61.74, a PEG ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 1.18.

General Electric (NYSE:GE) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 23rd. The conglomerate reported $1.20 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.99 by $0.21. General Electric had a return on equity of 16.07% and a net margin of 7.66%. The company had revenue of $9.09 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.44 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.68 earnings per share. General Electric’s quarterly revenue was up 3.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts predict that General Electric will post 4.2 EPS for the current year.

General Electric Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 25th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, September 26th will be given a dividend of $0.28 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, September 26th. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.59%. General Electric’s dividend payout ratio is currently 36.72%.

Institutional Trading of General Electric

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in GE. Studio Investment Management LLC raised its stake in General Electric by 97.5% during the 2nd quarter. Studio Investment Management LLC now owns 158 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 78 shares during the last quarter. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in General Electric during the 2nd quarter valued at $31,000. Kapitalo Investimentos Ltda purchased a new position in shares of General Electric during the 4th quarter worth $32,000. Financial Connections Group Inc. purchased a new position in shares of General Electric during the 2nd quarter worth $32,000. Finally, Richardson Financial Services Inc. purchased a new position in shares of General Electric in the 1st quarter worth $34,000. 74.77% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.