Short Interest in General Electric (NYSE:GE) Grows By 36.3%

General Electric (NYSE:GE - Get Free Report) saw a large growth in short interest during the month of February. As of February 28th, there was short interest totalling 15,670,000 shares, a growth of 36.3% from the February 13th total of 11,500,000 shares. Currently, 1.5% of the company's stock are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 5,440,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 2.9 days.

General Electric Price Performance

GE stock traded down $1.42 on Thursday, reaching $204.15. The company had a trading volume of 2,193,543 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,366,367. General Electric has a 1 year low of $133.99 and a 1 year high of $212.19. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.88, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a current ratio of 1.09. The company's fifty day moving average is $197.36 and its 200 day moving average is $184.53. The company has a market cap of $219.11 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.08, a PEG ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 1.19.

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

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General Electric Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 25th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 10th will be paid a dividend of $0.36 per share. This represents a $1.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.71%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 10th. This is a positive change from General Electric's previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. General Electric's dividend payout ratio is currently 24.04%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have issued reports on GE shares. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on General Electric from $225.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $200.00 price target on shares of General Electric in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their price target on General Electric from $235.00 to $228.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 2nd. Citigroup boosted their target price on General Electric from $216.00 to $235.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their target price on General Electric from $215.00 to $235.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, General Electric presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $211.31.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Johnson & White Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of General Electric during the 4th quarter worth $733,000. Chung Wu Investment Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of General Electric during the fourth quarter valued at about $795,000. State Street Corp grew its stake in shares of General Electric by 2.1% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 43,322,827 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $8,181,801,000 after acquiring an additional 898,296 shares in the last quarter. Soltis Investment Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of General Electric by 269.8% during the third quarter. Soltis Investment Advisors LLC now owns 28,201 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $5,318,000 after acquiring an additional 20,575 shares in the last quarter. Finally, World Investment Advisors LLC lifted its position 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 purchasing an additional 5,162 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other 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.