General Electric (NYSE:GE) Hits New 12-Month High – Time to Buy?

General Electric (NYSE:GE)’s share price hit a new 52-week high during trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $212.19 and last traded at $209.94, with a volume of 4395356 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $208.27.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

GE has been the subject of several recent research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of General Electric from $190.00 to $210.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Northcoast Research initiated coverage on shares of General Electric in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. They set a “neutral” rating for the company. Bank of America upped their target price on shares of General Electric from $200.00 to $225.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Redburn Atlantic initiated coverage on shares of General Electric in a research report on Tuesday. They set a “buy” rating and a $250.00 target price for the company. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price 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. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, General Electric has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $211.31.

General Electric Stock Performance

The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $185.89 and a 200-day simple moving average of $180.43. The stock has a market cap of $224.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.88, a PEG ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 1.22. 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 (NYSE:GE) last released its earnings results on Thursday, January 23rd. The conglomerate reported $1.32 earnings per share (EPS) 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, equities analysts expect that General Electric will post 5.4 earnings per share for the current year.

General Electric Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 25th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.36 per share. This represents a $1.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.69%. This is a boost from General Electric’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. General Electric’s dividend payout ratio is 18.70%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On General Electric

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in GE. Valley Wealth Managers Inc. acquired a new position in shares of General Electric during the 3rd quarter worth about $25,000. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of General Electric by 133.3% during the 4th quarter. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC now owns 147 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 84 shares during the last quarter. O Brien Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of General Electric during the 3rd quarter worth about $27,000. Hager Investment Management Services LLC acquired a new position in shares of General Electric during the 4th quarter worth about $27,000. Finally, Peterson Financial Group Inc. acquired a new position in shares of General Electric during the 3rd quarter worth about $28,000. 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.