General Electric (NYSE:GE) Stock Price Down 0.1% After Analyst Downgrade

General Electric (NYSE:GE) shares fell 0.1% during mid-day trading on Thursday after Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price target on the stock from $210.00 to $200.00. Royal Bank of Canada currently has an outperform rating on the stock. General Electric traded as low as $180.27 and last traded at $181.52. 920,763 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 86% from the average session volume of 6,361,910 shares. The stock had previously closed at $181.69.

GE has been the subject of a number of other reports. UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of General Electric from $223.00 to $230.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of General Electric from $175.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 30th. Melius Research boosted their target price on shares of General Electric from $194.00 to $202.00 in a report on Tuesday. Bank of America boosted their target price on shares of General Electric from $180.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein boosted their target price on shares of General Electric from $201.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, October 14th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $200.93.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On General Electric

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Studio Investment Management LLC lifted its position in shares of General Electric by 97.5% in the 2nd quarter. Studio Investment Management LLC now owns 158 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 78 shares during the period. Toth Financial Advisory Corp bought a new position in shares of General Electric during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $25,000. O Brien Wealth Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of General Electric during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $27,000. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of General Electric during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $31,000. Finally, Financial Connections Group Inc. bought a new position in shares of General Electric during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $32,000. 74.77% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

General Electric Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 1.14. The stock has a market cap of $196.11 billion, a P/E ratio of 58.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 1.18. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $179.71 and its 200 day moving average is $168.23.

General Electric (NYSE:GE) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 22nd. The conglomerate reported $1.15 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.13 by $0.02. General Electric had a net margin of 7.66% and a return on equity of 16.07%. The firm had revenue of $9.84 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.02 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.82 EPS. General Electric’s revenue was up 5.8% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts anticipate that General Electric will post 4.2 EPS for the current year.

General Electric Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 25th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, September 26th were paid a dividend of $0.28 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, September 26th. This represents a $1.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.63%. General Electric’s payout ratio is 36.72%.

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.