General Electric (NYSE:GE) Given Average Recommendation of "Moderate Buy" by Analysts

General Electric (NYSE:GE - Get Free Report) has received an average rating of "Moderate Buy" from the fourteen analysts that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold recommendation and thirteen have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 12 month price target among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $190.38.

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price target on General Electric from $195.00 to $209.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, June 10th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on General Electric from $192.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 24th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on General Electric from $185.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, June 28th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on General Electric from $148.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, May 13th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on General Electric from $175.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 24th.

Institutional Trading of General Electric

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Souders Financial Advisors lifted its position in General Electric by 725.5% in the second quarter. Souders Financial Advisors now owns 21,314 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $3,388,000 after purchasing an additional 18,732 shares during the last quarter. Founders Financial Alliance LLC lifted its position in General Electric by 5.7% in the second quarter. Founders Financial Alliance LLC now owns 3,694 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $587,000 after purchasing an additional 199 shares during the last quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers lifted its position in General Electric by 11.7% in the second quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 249,814 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $39,713,000 after purchasing an additional 26,068 shares during the last quarter. 3Chopt Investment Partners LLC bought a new stake in General Electric in the second quarter valued at approximately $704,000. Finally, Advisory Alpha LLC lifted its position in General Electric by 11.3% in the second quarter. Advisory Alpha LLC now owns 1,779 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $283,000 after purchasing an additional 181 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 74.77% of the company's stock.

General Electric Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE GE traded up $1.04 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $174.62. The company had a trading volume of 5,295,576 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,756,916. The company has a market capitalization of $191.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 57.25, a P/E/G ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 1.21. General Electric has a 1 year low of $84.42 and a 1 year high of $177.20. The company has a current ratio of 1.14, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $165.18 and its 200-day moving average price is $162.52.

General Electric (NYSE:GE - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 23rd. The conglomerate reported $1.20 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.99 by $0.21. The company had revenue of $9.09 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $8.44 billion. General Electric had a return on equity of 16.07% and a net margin of 7.66%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 3.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.68 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that General Electric will post 4.15 earnings per share for the current year.

General Electric Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 25th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 11th were paid a $0.28 dividend. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.64%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, July 11th. General Electric's dividend payout ratio is currently 36.72%.

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.