Short Interest in GE HealthCare Technologies Inc. (NASDAQ:GEHC) Increases By 6.6%

GE HealthCare Technologies Inc. (NASDAQ:GEHC) was the target of a large growth in short interest in December. As of December 15th, there was short interest totalling 9,240,000 shares, a growth of 6.6% from the November 30th total of 8,670,000 shares. Currently, 2.1% of the company’s shares are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 3,250,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.8 days.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on GEHC shares. Evercore ISI lifted their target price on shares of GE HealthCare Technologies from $98.00 to $102.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. BTIG Research upgraded GE HealthCare Technologies from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $100.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Wednesday, September 18th. UBS Group cut GE HealthCare Technologies from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and cut their target price for the stock from $84.00 to $74.00 in a research note on Thursday, September 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. assumed coverage on GE HealthCare Technologies in a research report on Monday, September 9th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $90.00 price target for the company. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on shares of GE HealthCare Technologies from $100.00 to $102.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, September 30th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $95.46.

GE HealthCare Technologies Stock Performance

Shares of GEHC stock traded down $0.42 on Wednesday, reaching $78.18. The stock had a trading volume of 1,877,203 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,057,291. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.12, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a current ratio of 1.23. GE HealthCare Technologies has a 1 year low of $71.31 and a 1 year high of $94.55. The stock has a market cap of $35.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.48, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.96 and a beta of 1.07. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $83.04 and a 200 day simple moving average of $83.96.

GE HealthCare Technologies (NASDAQ:GEHC) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The company reported $1.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.06 by $0.08. GE HealthCare Technologies had a return on equity of 25.19% and a net margin of 8.56%. The business had revenue of $4.86 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.87 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.99 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up .9% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts expect that GE HealthCare Technologies will post 4.3 EPS for the current year.

GE HealthCare Technologies Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 14th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, January 14th will be paid a dividend of $0.035 per share. This represents a $0.14 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.18%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, January 14th. This is a boost from GE HealthCare Technologies’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.03. GE HealthCare Technologies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 3.85%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Roland Rott sold 3,577 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $86.48, for a total value of $309,338.96. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 24,298 shares in the company, valued at $2,101,291.04. This trade represents a 12.83 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.27% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On GE HealthCare Technologies

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of GEHC. Quent Capital LLC lifted its position in GE HealthCare Technologies by 18.4% during the third quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 766 shares of the company’s stock valued at $72,000 after purchasing an additional 119 shares in the last quarter. Greenleaf Trust boosted its position in shares of GE HealthCare Technologies by 1.7% in the third quarter. Greenleaf Trust now owns 7,619 shares of the company’s stock worth $715,000 after purchasing an additional 124 shares during the period. Westside Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of GE HealthCare Technologies by 32.0% in the third quarter. Westside Investment Management Inc. now owns 516 shares of the company’s stock worth $48,000 after purchasing an additional 125 shares in the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of GE HealthCare Technologies by 8.7% during the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,590 shares of the company’s stock valued at $135,000 after purchasing an additional 127 shares during the period. Finally, Quarry LP lifted its position in shares of GE HealthCare Technologies by 28.3% in the second quarter. Quarry LP now owns 594 shares of the company’s stock valued at $46,000 after acquiring an additional 131 shares in the last quarter. 82.06% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About GE HealthCare Technologies

GE HealthCare Technologies Inc engages in the development, manufacture, and marketing of products, services, and complementary digital solutions used in the diagnosis, treatment, and monitoring of patients in the United States, Canada, and internationally. The company operates through four segments: Imaging, Ultrasound, Patient Care Solutions, and Pharmaceutical Diagnostics.