General Electric (NYSE:GE) Stock Price Up 0.4% - Time to Buy?

General Electric (NYSE:GE) saw its stock rise by 0.4% during trading on Wednesday, reaching a peak of $182.12 before closing at $181.42. On this day, approximately 833,319 shares were traded, which is a significant drop of 86% compared to the average trading volume of 6,103,340 shares. The previous closing price was $180.72.

Recent Analyst Ratings

A number of analysts have recently updated their ratings for General Electric. Citigroup raised its price target from $198.00 to $216.00 and assigned a "buy" rating. Wells Fargo also increased its target from $205.00 to $210.00, maintaining an "overweight" rating. Similarly, Royal Bank of Canada adjusted their target down from $210.00 to $200.00 while keeping an "outperform" rating. Melius Research also lifted its price target from $194.00 to $202.00. Furthermore, Sanford C. Bernstein raised their price projection from $201.00 to $225.00, giving the stock an "outperform" rating. Among analysts, there are two who recommend a hold, while fourteen suggest a buy. According to MarketBeat, the overall recommendation stands at "Moderate Buy" with an average price target of $200.93.

General Electric's Performance Insights

The company's 50-day moving average is currently at $182.67, while the 200-day moving average stands at $172.08. GE's financial ratios indicate a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 1.13, and a quick ratio of 0.85. Its market capitalization is approximately $197.63 billion, with a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.88 and a PEG ratio of 1.77. The stock exhibits a beta of 1.17, suggesting a slightly higher volatility compared to the overall market.

Recent Earnings Report

General Electric provided its latest earnings results on October 22nd, reporting an earnings per share (EPS) of $1.15, exceeding analyst expectations of $1.13 by $0.02. The company's net margin clocked in at 11.48%, with a return on equity of 18.93%. Revenue for the quarter was recorded at $9.84 billion, surpassing the anticipated $9.02 billion. This demonstrates a year-over-year revenue increase of 5.8%, as compared to $0.82 EPS in the same period last year. Analysts forecast that General Electric will achieve an EPS of 4.24 for the current fiscal year.

Dividend Announcement

Recently, General Electric declared its quarterly dividend of $0.28 per share, which was paid on October 25th to shareholders on record as of September 26th. This results in an annualized dividend of $1.12, reflecting a yield of 0.61%. The company's dividend payout ratio stands at 19.68%.

Insider Trading Activities

In insider trading news, SVP Russell Stokes sold 15,550 shares at an average price of $178.29 on November 18th, totaling approximately $2.77 million. Following this transaction, he retains 148,857 shares valued at around $26.54 million. Furthermore, on November 6th, SVP Riccardo Procacci sold 7,000 shares at an average price of $181.13, amounting to about $1.27 million. After this sale, he holds 13,289 shares valued at approximately $2.41 million. Recent filings show that corporate insiders own about 0.66% of the stock.Stock, Analysts, Earnings