General Electric (NYSE:GE) Earns Neutral Rating from Analysts at Northcoast Research

Northcoast Research assumed coverage on shares of General Electric (NYSE:GE - Free Report) in a research report sent to investors on Tuesday morning, Marketbeat.com reports. The brokerage issued a neutral rating on the conglomerate's stock.

Several other research analysts have also weighed in on the stock. UBS Group increased their target price on shares of General Electric from $223.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Citigroup lifted 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. Sanford C. Bernstein upped their price target on General Electric from $201.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, October 14th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their price objective on General Electric from $235.00 to $228.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 2nd. Finally, Bank of America increased their target price on General Electric from $180.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $201.47.

General Electric Trading Up 0.0 %

Shares of GE stock traded up $0.07 on Tuesday, hitting $172.52. 6,496,302 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,900,391. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 1.13. General Electric has a twelve month low of $99.37 and a twelve month high of $194.80. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $174.36 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $173.28. The stock has a market capitalization of $186.72 billion, a PE ratio of 30.32, a PEG ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 1.19.

General Electric (NYSE:GE - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The conglomerate reported $1.15 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 business had revenue of $9.84 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $9.02 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.82 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 5.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts anticipate that General Electric will post 4.24 EPS for the current year.

General Electric Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 27th will be issued a $0.28 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 27th. This represents a $1.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.65%. General Electric's payout ratio is 19.68%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Russell Stokes sold 15,550 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $178.29, for a total value of $2,772,409.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 148,857 shares of the company's stock, valued at $26,539,714.53. This represents a 9.46 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Riccardo Procacci sold 7,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was 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 directly owns 13,289 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,407,036.57. The trade was a 34.50 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.66% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On General Electric

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Studio Investment Management LLC grew 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 worth $25,000 after buying an additional 78 shares during the last quarter. Toth Financial Advisory Corp acquired a new stake in shares of General Electric in the third quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Valley Wealth Managers Inc. purchased a new position in shares of General Electric during the third quarter worth approximately $25,000. O Brien Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of General Electric in the 3rd quarter valued at $27,000. Finally, Peterson Financial Group Inc. acquired a new stake in General Electric during the 3rd quarter worth $28,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 74.77% of the company's stock.

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.