Short Interest in General Electric (NYSE:GE) Drops By 10.9%

General Electric (NYSE:GE) was the recipient of a large drop in short interest in the month of March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totalling 11,360,000 shares, a drop of 10.9% from the March 15th total of 12,750,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 6,880,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 1.7 days. Currently, 1.0% of the company’s stock are sold short.

Analyst Ratings Changes

GE has been the subject of several research reports. Jefferies Financial Group cut their price target on General Electric from $195.00 to $180.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their price target on General Electric from $210.00 to $190.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 3rd. StockNews.com initiated coverage on General Electric in a report on Saturday. They set a “hold” rating for the company. Oppenheimer reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of General Electric in a report on Tuesday, March 5th. Finally, TheStreet raised General Electric from a “c+” rating to a “b+” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 23rd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, General Electric currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $160.07.

General Electric Stock Up 2.0 %

General Electric stock traded up $3.06 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $156.76. The company had a trading volume of 6,168,009 shares, compared to its average volume of 8,028,076. The company has a current ratio of 1.18, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $158.14 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $133.49. General Electric has a 12 month low of $76.38 and a 12 month high of $158.68. The company has a market capitalization of $171.38 billion, a PE ratio of 18.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.03 and a beta of 1.29.

General Electric (NYSE:GE) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 23rd. The conglomerate reported $1.03 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.90 by $0.13. The company had revenue of $19.42 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $17.27 billion. General Electric had a return on equity of 10.88% and a net margin of 13.95%. General Electric’s revenue for the quarter was up 15.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.24 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that General Electric will post 3.78 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

General Electric Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 25th. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 15th will be paid a $0.28 dividend. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.71%. This is a positive change from General Electric’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.08. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 12th. General Electric’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 13.38%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other General Electric news, SVP Michael J. Holston sold 13,601 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $135.55, for a total transaction of $1,843,615.55. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 48,339 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,552,351.45. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other news, SVP Michael J. Holston sold 22,055 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $144.87, for a total transaction of $3,195,107.85. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 56,284 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,153,863.08. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Michael J. Holston sold 13,601 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $135.55, for a total transaction of $1,843,615.55. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 48,339 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,552,351.45. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.66% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On General Electric

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Aspect Partners LLC acquired a new stake in General Electric during the 4th quarter worth about $25,000. Halpern Financial Inc. increased its stake in shares of General Electric by 968.4% in the 4th quarter. Halpern Financial Inc. now owns 203 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 184 shares in the last quarter. Dagco Inc. purchased a new position in shares of General Electric in the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. Criterion Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of General Electric in the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. Finally, Hobbs Group Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in General Electric during the 4th quarter worth approximately $29,000. 74.77% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About General Electric

General Electric Company operates as a high-tech industrial company in Europe, China, Asia, the Americas, the Middle East, and Africa. It offers gas and steam turbines, full balance of plant, upgrade, and service solutions, as well as data-leveraging software for power generation, industrial, government, and other customers.