General Electric (NYSE:GE) Sees Large Decline in Short Interest

General Electric (NYSE:GE) was the recipient of a significant drop in short interest during the month of January. As of January 31st, there was short interest totalling 11,410,000 shares, a drop of 8.3% from the January 15th total of 12,440,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 5,230,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 2.2 days. Approximately 1.1% of the company’s shares are sold short.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

GE has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Bank of America lifted their price target on shares of General Electric from $200.00 to $225.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. UBS Group lifted their price target 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. Melius Research lifted their price target on shares of General Electric from $194.00 to $202.00 in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. Northcoast Research initiated coverage on shares of General Electric in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. They issued a “neutral” rating for the company. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of General Electric from $190.00 to $210.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $208.73.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On General Electric

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of GE. Creative Planning grew its stake in General Electric by 9.0% in the 3rd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 196,581 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $37,071,000 after buying an additional 16,258 shares in the last quarter. KMG Fiduciary Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of General Electric in the 3rd quarter valued at $210,000. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its stake in shares of General Electric by 66.2% in the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 13,643 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $2,573,000 after purchasing an additional 5,433 shares in the last quarter. Capital Investment Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of General Electric by 3.8% in the 3rd quarter. Capital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 9,851 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $1,858,000 after purchasing an additional 361 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bartlett & CO. Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of General Electric by 1.5% in the 3rd quarter. Bartlett & CO. Wealth Management LLC now owns 14,042 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $2,652,000 after purchasing an additional 203 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 74.77% of the company’s stock.

General Electric Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE GE traded up $0.26 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $208.62. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 4,267,083 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,009,583. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $182.66 and a 200 day moving average price of $179.40. General Electric has a one year low of $117.43 and a one year high of $211.42. The company has a current ratio of 1.09, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.88. The firm has a market capitalization of $223.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.83, a P/E/G ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 1.22.

General Electric (NYSE:GE) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 23rd. The conglomerate reported $1.32 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.05 by $0.27. General Electric had a net margin of 14.31% and a return on equity of 22.19%. On average, research analysts forecast that General Electric will post 5.39 EPS for the current fiscal year.

General Electric Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced 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 represents a $1.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.69%. This is a positive change from General Electric’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. General Electric’s dividend payout ratio is 18.70%.

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.