General Electric (NYSE:GE) Now Covered by Analysts at StockNews.com

StockNews.com began coverage on shares of General Electric (NYSE:GE) in a report issued on Saturday. The brokerage issued a hold rating on the conglomerate’s stock.

A number of other research firms have also recently weighed in on GE. Bank of America lowered their price target on General Electric from $175.00 to $165.00 and set a buy rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 8th. Vertical Research began coverage on General Electric in a research note on Thursday, April 4th. They set a buy rating and a $160.00 target price on the stock. Oppenheimer reissued a market perform rating on shares of General Electric in a research note on Tuesday, March 5th. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their target price on General Electric from $195.00 to $180.00 and set a buy rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on General Electric from $200.00 to $165.00 and set an overweight rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 4th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $160.07.

General Electric Trading Up 2.0 %

Shares of GE stock opened at $156.76 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 1.18 and a quick ratio of 0.85. General Electric has a 1-year low of $76.38 and a 1-year high of $158.68. The company has a market cap of $171.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.73, a PEG ratio of 3.03 and a beta of 1.29. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $158.53 and a 200-day simple moving average of $133.81.

General Electric (NYSE:GE) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 23rd. The conglomerate reported $1.03 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.90 by $0.13. The firm had revenue of $19.42 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $17.27 billion. General Electric had a return on equity of 10.88% and a net margin of 13.95%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 15.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.24 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts expect that General Electric will post 3.78 EPS for the current fiscal year.

General Electric Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 25th. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 15th will be issued a $0.28 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 12th. This represents a $1.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.71%. This is an increase from General Electric’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.08. General Electric’s dividend payout ratio is presently 13.38%.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Michael J. Holston sold 22,055 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $144.87, for a total transaction of $3,195,107.85. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 56,284 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,153,863.08. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In other General Electric news, SVP Michael J. Holston sold 13,601 shares of General Electric stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $135.55, for a total value of $1,843,615.55. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 48,339 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,552,351.45. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, SVP Michael J. Holston sold 22,055 shares of General Electric stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $144.87, for a total value of $3,195,107.85. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 56,284 shares in the company, valued at $8,153,863.08. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.66% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Sei Investments Co. lifted its holdings in shares of General Electric by 10.0% in the 1st quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 305,384 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $27,925,000 after buying an additional 27,682 shares during the period. Prudential PLC acquired a new position in shares of General Electric in the first quarter worth $1,518,000. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of General Electric by 2.9% in the first quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 11,748 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $1,075,000 after acquiring an additional 334 shares during the last quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of General Electric in the first quarter worth $388,000. Finally, West Family Investments Inc. acquired a new position in shares of General Electric in the first quarter worth $230,000. 74.77% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About General Electric

General Electric Company operates as a high-tech industrial company in Europe, China, Asia, the Americas, the Middle East, and Africa. It offers gas and steam turbines, full balance of plant, upgrade, and service solutions, as well as data-leveraging software for power generation, industrial, government, and other customers.