Short Interest in General Electric (NYSE:GE) Decreases By 8.3%

General Electric (NYSE:GE) saw a large decline in short interest in January. As of January 31st, there was short interest totalling 11,410,000 shares, a decline of 8.3% from the January 15th total of 12,440,000 shares. Currently, 1.1% of the shares of the stock are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 5,230,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 2.2 days.

General Electric Trading Up 0.8 %

Shares of NYSE GE traded up $1.67 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $209.94. The company had a trading volume of 4,395,356 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,586,972. The stock has a market cap of $225.33 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.05, a PEG ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 1.22. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $183.40 and its 200-day moving average price is $179.67. The company has a quick ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 1.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.88. General Electric has a 12 month low of $118.13 and a 12 month high of $212.19.

General Electric (NYSE:GE) last announced its earnings results 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, research analysts expect that General Electric will post 5.39 earnings per share for the current year.

General Electric Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 25th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 10th will be given a dividend of $0.36 per share. This is a boost from General Electric’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. This represents a $1.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.69%. General Electric’s dividend payout ratio is 18.70%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently weighed in on GE. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their price objective on General Electric from $235.00 to $228.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 2nd. Redburn Atlantic initiated 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. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $200.00 price objective on shares of General Electric in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective 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. Finally, Melius Research boosted their target price on shares of General Electric from $194.00 to $202.00 in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $211.31.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On General Electric

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

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.