Short Interest in General Electric (NYSE:GE) Decreases By 7.3%

General Electric (NYSE:GE) saw a significant decline in short interest during the month of November. As of November 30th, there was short interest totalling 11,240,000 shares, a decline of 7.3% from the November 15th total of 12,130,000 shares. Currently, 1.0% of the company’s stock are sold short. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 4,630,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 2.4 days.

General Electric Trading Down 0.1 %

GE traded down $0.22 during trading on Monday, hitting $165.79. 6,563,268 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 6,136,417. The firm has a market capitalization of $179.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.66 and a beta of 1.17. General Electric has a 12-month low of $98.48 and a 12-month high of $194.80. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 1.13 and a quick ratio of 0.85. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $180.30 and a 200 day moving average of $172.50.

General Electric (NYSE:GE) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The conglomerate reported $1.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.13 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $9.84 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.02 billion. General Electric had a return on equity of 18.93% and a net margin of 11.48%. General Electric’s quarterly revenue was up 5.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.82 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that General Electric will post 4.24 EPS for the current year.

General Electric Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 27th. Investors of record on Friday, December 27th will be issued a dividend of $0.28 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 27th. This represents a $1.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.68%. General Electric’s dividend payout ratio is presently 19.68%.

Insider Activity at General Electric

In other General Electric news, SVP Russell Stokes sold 15,550 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $178.29, for a total value of $2,772,409.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 148,857 shares in the company, valued at $26,539,714.53. This represents a 9.46 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, SVP Riccardo Procacci sold 7,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $181.13, for a total transaction of $1,267,910.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 13,289 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,407,036.57. This trade represents a 34.50 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.66% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of General Electric

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Tsfg LLC lifted its position in shares of General Electric by 12.8% in the 3rd quarter. Tsfg LLC now owns 485 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $92,000 after purchasing an additional 55 shares during the period. Macroview Investment Management LLC boosted its position in General Electric by 37.9% during the 2nd quarter. Macroview Investment Management LLC now owns 211 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 58 shares in the last quarter. Strategic Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of General Electric by 2.6% during the 3rd quarter. Strategic Advisors LLC now owns 2,267 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $428,000 after acquiring an additional 58 shares during the period. Mitchell Mcleod Pugh & Williams Inc. raised its position in shares of General Electric by 1.0% in the 3rd quarter. Mitchell Mcleod Pugh & Williams Inc. now owns 6,299 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $1,188,000 after acquiring an additional 60 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Allegheny Financial Group LTD increased its stake in shares of General Electric by 1.4% in the 2nd quarter. Allegheny Financial Group LTD now owns 4,489 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $714,000 after acquiring an additional 61 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 74.77% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have commented on GE shares. UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of General Electric from $223.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of General Electric from $210.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price target on General Electric from $210.00 to $200.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Melius Research upped their price objective on General Electric from $194.00 to $202.00 in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Finally, Bank of America raised their price objective on General Electric from $180.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $201.93.

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.