Johnson Rice Upgrades GE Vernova (NYSE:GEV) to Strong-Buy

Johnson Rice upgraded shares of GE Vernova (NYSE:GEV) to a strong-buy rating in a research note published on Thursday morning,Zacks.com reports.

GEV has been the subject of a number of other reports. Barclays upped their price target on GE Vernova from $420.00 to $487.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Evercore ISI upped their price objective on shares of GE Vernova from $385.00 to $390.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Truist Financial raised their price objective on GE Vernova from $420.00 to $470.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Bank of America boosted their target price on GE Vernova from $380.00 to $415.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Finally, TD Cowen started coverage on GE Vernova in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. They set a “buy” rating and a $400.00 price target on the stock. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nineteen have assigned a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, GE Vernova currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $346.22.

GE Vernova Price Performance

GEV stock opened at $377.99 on Thursday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $357.71 and its two-hundred day moving average is $284.04. The firm has a market capitalization of $104.19 billion and a P/E ratio of 67.98. GE Vernova has a 1 year low of $115.00 and a 1 year high of $447.50.

GE Vernova (NYSE:GEV) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The company reported $1.73 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.30 by ($0.57). GE Vernova had a return on equity of 6.70% and a net margin of 4.44%. The firm had revenue of $10.56 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $10.70 billion. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 5.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts expect that GE Vernova will post 6.33 EPS for the current year.

GE Vernova Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, January 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 20th were issued a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 20th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.26%. GE Vernova’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 17.99%.

GE Vernova announced that its board has approved a share repurchase plan on Tuesday, December 10th that authorizes the company to buyback $6.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to buy up to 6.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are typically an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Armstrong Advisory Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of GE Vernova by 3.5% during the 4th quarter. Armstrong Advisory Group Inc. now owns 798 shares of the company’s stock worth $262,000 after purchasing an additional 27 shares during the last quarter. Hengehold Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in GE Vernova by 2.4% in the 4th quarter. Hengehold Capital Management LLC now owns 1,231 shares of the company’s stock valued at $405,000 after acquiring an additional 29 shares during the last quarter. AdvisorNet Financial Inc lifted its stake in shares of GE Vernova by 1.6% during the 4th quarter. AdvisorNet Financial Inc now owns 1,859 shares of the company’s stock worth $611,000 after purchasing an additional 30 shares during the period. Mutual Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of GE Vernova by 1.2% during the fourth quarter. Mutual Advisors LLC now owns 2,701 shares of the company’s stock worth $888,000 after purchasing an additional 31 shares during the last quarter. Finally, WASHINGTON TRUST Co grew its position in shares of GE Vernova by 1.9% in the fourth quarter. WASHINGTON TRUST Co now owns 1,702 shares of the company’s stock valued at $560,000 after purchasing an additional 31 shares during the period.

About GE Vernova

GE Vernova LLC, an energy business company, generates electricity. It operates under three segments: Power, Wind, and Electrification. The Power segments generates and sells electricity through hydro, gas, nuclear, and steam power. Wind segment engages in the manufacturing and sale of wind turbine blades; and Electrification segment provides grid solutions, power conversion, solar, and storage solutions.