General Electric (NYSE:GE) Raised to “Buy” at Northcoast Research

Northcoast Research upgraded shares of General Electric (NYSE:GE) from a neutral rating to a buy rating in a report issued on Wednesday, MarketBeat.com reports. The firm currently has $205.00 price target on the conglomerate’s stock.

Other research analysts also recently issued research reports about the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their price target on shares of General Electric from $235.00 to $228.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on shares of General Electric from $250.00 to $203.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on General Electric from $190.00 to $210.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Redburn Atlantic initiated coverage on General Electric in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. They set a “buy” rating and a $250.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, UBS Group lifted their target price on General Electric from $215.00 to $235.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, General Electric presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $212.73.

General Electric Stock Up 0.1 %

Shares of NYSE:GE opened at $181.60 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $194.91 billion, a PE ratio of 30.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 1.04. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $198.36 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $186.59. General Electric has a 1 year low of $146.78 and a 1 year high of $214.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.88, a current ratio of 1.09 and a quick ratio of 0.81.

General Electric (NYSE:GE) last posted 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 return on equity of 22.19% and a net margin of 14.31%. On average, equities analysts predict that General Electric will post 5.4 EPS for the current year.

General Electric Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 25th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 10th will be given a dividend of $0.36 per share. This represents a $1.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.79%. This is a positive change from General Electric’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 10th. General Electric’s dividend payout ratio is presently 24.04%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of GE. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in General Electric by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 89,815,318 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $14,980,297,000 after buying an additional 410,172 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC increased its holdings in shares of General Electric by 1.5% during the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 66,823,968 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $11,145,570,000 after acquiring an additional 965,012 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of General Electric by 2.3% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 23,117,418 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $3,846,587,000 after purchasing an additional 529,457 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in General Electric in the 4th quarter worth approximately $2,375,439,000. Finally, Northern Trust Corp grew its position in General Electric by 5.8% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 10,046,867 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $1,675,717,000 after purchasing an additional 553,104 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors 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.