General Electric (NYSE:GE) Short Interest Down 7.3% in November

General Electric (NYSE:GE) saw a significant decrease in short interest in November. As of November 30th, there was short interest totalling 11,240,000 shares, a decrease of 7.3% from the November 15th total of 12,130,000 shares. Currently, 1.0% of the company’s shares are short sold. Based on an average trading volume of 4,630,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.4 days.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have commented on the company. Melius Research increased their target price on General Electric from $194.00 to $202.00 in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. Bank of America increased their price objective on General Electric from $180.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on General Electric from $210.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their target price on shares of General Electric from $210.00 to $200.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein lifted their price target on shares of General Electric from $201.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, October 14th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $201.93.

Insider Activity at General Electric

In related news, SVP Russell Stokes sold 15,550 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $178.29, for a total value of $2,772,409.50. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 148,857 shares in the company, valued at $26,539,714.53. The trade was a 9.46 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, SVP Riccardo Procacci sold 7,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $181.13, for a total transaction of $1,267,910.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 13,289 shares in the company, valued at $2,407,036.57. This trade represents a 34.50 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.66% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On General Electric

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of GE. Newport Trust Company LLC bought a new position in General Electric in the 2nd quarter worth about $2,613,332,000. Jennison Associates LLC lifted its holdings in shares of General Electric by 91.8% in the 3rd quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 7,771,759 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $1,465,598,000 after buying an additional 3,719,894 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA purchased a new position in shares of General Electric during the second quarter valued at $580,200,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of General Electric by 21,069.8% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 3,173,142 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $598,391,000 after acquiring an additional 3,158,153 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wulff Hansen & CO. raised its holdings in shares of General Electric by 18,693.9% in the second quarter. Wulff Hansen & CO. now owns 1,614,022 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $256,581,000 after acquiring an additional 1,605,434 shares in the last quarter. 74.77% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

General Electric Stock Performance

Shares of GE stock traded up $0.03 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $165.83. 4,854,478 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 6,129,007. General Electric has a 12 month low of $98.48 and a 12 month high of $194.80. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 1.13. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $179.90 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $172.52. The firm has a market capitalization of $179.47 billion, a PE ratio of 29.14, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.66 and a beta of 1.17.

General Electric (NYSE:GE) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The conglomerate reported $1.15 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.13 by $0.02. General Electric had a return on equity of 18.93% and a net margin of 11.48%. The firm had revenue of $9.84 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.02 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.82 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 5.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts forecast that General Electric will post 4.24 EPS for the current year.

General Electric Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 27th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 27th will be given a dividend of $0.28 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 27th. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.68%. General Electric’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 19.68%.

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.