General Electric (NYSE:GE) Receives Consensus Recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from Analysts

Shares of General Electric (NYSE:GE - Get Free Report) have earned an average rating of "Moderate Buy" from the seventeen analysts that are covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the company. The average 12 month target price among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $211.31.

A number of analysts recently commented on GE shares. Northcoast Research assumed coverage on General Electric in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. They set a "neutral" rating on the stock. UBS Group raised their price target on shares of General Electric from $215.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of General Electric from $225.00 to $250.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Redburn Atlantic assumed coverage on shares of General Electric in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. They set a "buy" rating and a $250.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Citigroup lifted their target price on shares of General Electric from $216.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On General Electric

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC lifted its position in General Electric by 117.7% during the 3rd quarter. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC now owns 270 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $51,000 after acquiring an additional 146 shares during the last quarter. Johnson & White Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of General Electric in the fourth quarter worth about $733,000. State Street Corp grew its holdings in General Electric by 2.1% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 43,322,827 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $8,181,801,000 after buying an additional 898,296 shares during the last quarter. Soltis Investment Advisors LLC increased its position in General Electric by 269.8% in the 3rd quarter. Soltis Investment Advisors LLC now owns 28,201 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $5,318,000 after buying an additional 20,575 shares during the period. Finally, World Investment Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of General Electric by 60.7% during the third quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC now owns 13,662 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $2,576,000 after buying an additional 5,162 shares during the last quarter. 74.77% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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General Electric Price Performance

General Electric stock traded up $0.49 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $199.20. The company's stock had a trading volume of 4,117,617 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,352,800. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.88, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a current ratio of 1.09. General Electric has a fifty-two week low of $122.48 and a fifty-two week high of $212.19. The firm has a market capitalization of $213.80 billion, a PE ratio of 33.25, a P/E/G ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 1.21. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $187.90 and its 200 day simple moving average is $181.44.

General Electric (NYSE:GE - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 23rd. The conglomerate reported $1.32 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 research analysts forecast that General Electric will post 5.4 earnings per share for the current year.

General Electric Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 25th. Investors of record on Monday, March 10th will be given a dividend of $0.36 per share. This is a boost from General Electric's previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. This represents a $1.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.72%. General Electric's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 24.04%.

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.