General Electric (NYSE:GE) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Analysts

General Electric (NYSE:GE) has received a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the seventeen brokerages that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and fifteen have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 1-year price target among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $211.31.

GE has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and set a $200.00 target price on shares of General Electric in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Northcoast Research assumed coverage on General Electric in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. They set a “neutral” rating on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on General Electric from $190.00 to $210.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Citigroup raised their price target on General Electric from $216.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Finally, UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of General Electric from $215.00 to $235.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th.

General Electric Stock Up 1.2 %

Shares of NYSE:GE opened at $201.56 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 1.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.88. The company has a market capitalization of $216.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.65, a P/E/G ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 1.21. General Electric has a 52-week low of $122.48 and a 52-week high of $212.19. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $188.73 and its 200-day simple moving average is $181.58.

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, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.05 by $0.27. General Electric had a net margin of 14.31% and a return on equity of 22.19%. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that General Electric will post 5.4 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

General Electric Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 25th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 10th will be given a $0.36 dividend. This represents a $1.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.71%. This is a positive change from General Electric’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. General Electric’s dividend payout ratio is presently 24.04%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On General Electric

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Yoffe Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in General Electric in the fourth quarter valued at about $615,000. Capital A Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of General Electric in the fourth quarter valued at about $57,000. Windmill Hill Asset Management Ltd raised its holdings in shares of General Electric by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. Windmill Hill Asset Management Ltd now owns 33,154 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $5,530,000 after buying an additional 275 shares during the period. Heck Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in General Electric during the 4th quarter worth approximately $677,000. Finally, Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. boosted its holdings in General Electric by 3.0% in the 4th quarter. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. now owns 10,978 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $1,831,000 after acquiring an additional 324 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.