General Electric (NYSE:GE) Trading Down 0.5% – Should You Sell?

General Electric (NYSE:GE) shares traded down 0.5% on Wednesday . The stock traded as low as $208.89 and last traded at $209.05. 521,433 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 90% from the average session volume of 5,426,338 shares. The stock had previously closed at $210.08.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have commented on GE shares. Redburn Atlantic assumed coverage on shares of General Electric in a research note on Tuesday. They issued a “buy” rating and a $250.00 price target on the stock. Northcoast Research assumed coverage on General Electric in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. They issued a “neutral” rating on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on General Electric from $190.00 to $210.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. UBS Group upped their price objective on General Electric from $215.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $200.00 target price on shares of General Electric in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $211.31.

General Electric Stock Performance

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 business has a 50 day moving average price of $185.89 and a 200 day moving average price of $180.43. The stock has a market cap of $214.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.37, a PEG ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 1.22.

General Electric (NYSE:GE) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 23rd. The conglomerate reported $1.32 EPS 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%. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that General Electric will post 5.4 EPS for the current year.

General Electric Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 25th. Investors of record on Monday, March 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.36 per share. This is a positive change 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%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On General Electric

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Ascent Group LLC increased its holdings in General Electric by 8.0% during the 4th quarter. Ascent Group LLC now owns 19,555 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $3,262,000 after purchasing an additional 1,444 shares during the period. Putney Financial Group LLC bought a new position in shares of General Electric during the 4th quarter worth $28,000. Value Partners Investments Inc. increased its stake in shares of General Electric by 5.8% during the fourth quarter. Value Partners Investments Inc. now owns 13,638 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $2,273,000 after buying an additional 746 shares during the period. Vermillion Wealth Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of General Electric in the fourth quarter valued at about $114,000. Finally, AlphaCore Capital LLC lifted its stake in General Electric by 16.3% in the fourth quarter. AlphaCore Capital LLC now owns 8,518 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $1,423,000 after acquiring an additional 1,193 shares during the period. 74.77% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.