General Electric (NYSE:GE) Short Interest Update

General Electric (NYSE:GE) was the target of a large 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. Approximately 1.1% of the shares of the company are sold short. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 5,230,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 2.2 days.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On General Electric

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Truvestments Capital LLC raised its position in shares of General Electric by 26.2% in the fourth quarter. Truvestments Capital LLC now owns 236 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 49 shares during the period. Ritter Daniher Financial Advisory LLC DE raised its position in shares of General Electric by 17.6% in the fourth quarter. Ritter Daniher Financial Advisory LLC DE now owns 334 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $56,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares during the period. Ballast Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of General Electric by 2.5% in the fourth quarter. Ballast Advisors LLC now owns 2,093 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $349,000 after purchasing an additional 51 shares during the period. Blue Barn Wealth LLC raised its position in shares of General Electric by 3.8% in the fourth quarter. Blue Barn Wealth LLC now owns 1,466 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $245,000 after purchasing an additional 54 shares during the period. Finally, First Heartland Consultants Inc. raised its position in shares of General Electric by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. First Heartland Consultants Inc. now owns 4,729 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $789,000 after purchasing an additional 54 shares during the period. 74.77% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

GE has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their target price on shares of General Electric from $235.00 to $228.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 2nd. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $200.00 target price on shares of General Electric in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Citigroup raised their target price on shares of General Electric from $216.00 to $235.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of General Electric from $190.00 to $210.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Bank of America increased their price target on shares of General Electric from $200.00 to $225.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, General Electric presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $211.31.

General Electric Price Performance

NYSE:GE opened at $209.94 on Wednesday. The company has a 50-day moving average of $184.18 and a 200-day moving average of $180.02. The company has a market capitalization of $225.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.05, a PEG ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 1.22. General Electric has a 52 week low of $118.13 and a 52 week high of $212.19. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.88, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a current ratio of 1.09.

General Electric (NYSE:GE) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 23rd. The conglomerate reported $1.32 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.05 by $0.27. General Electric had a net margin of 14.31% and a return on equity of 22.19%. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that General Electric will post 5.39 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

General Electric Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared 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 is an increase from General Electric’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. This represents a $1.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.69%. General Electric’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 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.