General Electric (NYSE:GE) Hits New 12-Month High – Time to Buy?

Shares of General Electric (NYSE:GE) hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $212.19 and last traded at $209.94, with a volume of 4395356 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $208.27.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and set a $200.00 price objective on shares of General Electric in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of General Electric from $190.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Northcoast Research assumed coverage on shares of General Electric in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. They set a “neutral” rating on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of General Electric from $225.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, UBS Group raised their target price on shares of General Electric from $215.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $211.31.

General Electric Price Performance

The business’s 50 day moving average is $185.89 and its 200-day moving average is $180.43. The firm has a market capitalization of $224.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.88, a PEG ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 1.22. 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 (NYSE:GE) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 net margin of 14.31% and a return on equity of 22.19%. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that General Electric will post 5.4 EPS for the current fiscal year.

General Electric Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 25th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 10th will be given a $0.36 dividend. This represents a $1.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.69%. This is a positive change from General Electric’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. General Electric’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 18.70%.

Institutional Trading of General Electric

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in GE. Truvestments Capital LLC grew its holdings in shares of General Electric by 26.2% during the 4th quarter. Truvestments Capital LLC now owns 236 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 49 shares during the last quarter. Ritter Daniher Financial Advisory LLC DE grew its holdings in shares of General Electric by 17.6% during the 4th quarter. Ritter Daniher Financial Advisory LLC DE now owns 334 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $56,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares during the last quarter. Ballast Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of General Electric by 2.5% during the 4th quarter. Ballast Advisors LLC now owns 2,093 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $349,000 after purchasing an additional 51 shares during the last quarter. Blue Barn Wealth LLC grew its holdings in shares of General Electric by 3.8% during the 4th quarter. Blue Barn Wealth LLC now owns 1,466 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $245,000 after purchasing an additional 54 shares during the last quarter. Finally, First Heartland Consultants Inc. grew its holdings in shares of General Electric by 1.2% during the 4th quarter. First Heartland Consultants Inc. now owns 4,729 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $789,000 after purchasing an additional 54 shares during 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.