Harfst & Associates Inc. Acquires Shares of 3,606 GE Aerospace (NYSE:GE)

Key Points

• Harfst & Associates Inc. acquired 3,606 shares of GE Aerospace, valued at approximately $722,000, during the first quarter.
• Several analysts have upgraded GE Aerospace's stock ratings, with target prices raised significantly; Barclays increased their target from $230.00 to $295.00.
• GE Aerospace reported quarterly earnings with an EPS of $1.66, beating estimates, and achieved a revenue of $10.15 billion, up 21.2% year-over-year.

Harfst & Associates Inc. bought a new position in shares of GE Aerospace (NYSE:GE - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 3,606 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $722,000.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in GE. Putney Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in GE Aerospace during the 4th quarter worth $28,000. IMA Advisory Services Inc. acquired a new stake in GE Aerospace during the 1st quarter worth $28,000. Copia Wealth Management raised its stake in GE Aerospace by 14,200.0% during the 1st quarter. Copia Wealth Management now owns 143 shares of the company's stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 142 shares in the last quarter. First Pacific Financial increased its stake in GE Aerospace by 46.0% in the first quarter. First Pacific Financial now owns 165 shares of the company's stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 52 shares during the period. Finally, O Brien Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new position in GE Aerospace in the first quarter valued at $33,000. 74.77% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

GE Aerospace Price Performance

Shares of NYSE GE traded down $2.08 on Friday, hitting $267.62. The company's stock had a trading volume of 5,202,309 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,687,750. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $257.44 and a 200-day moving average of $224.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.88, a current ratio of 1.04 and a quick ratio of 0.73. The company has a market capitalization of $283.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.88 and a beta of 1.44. GE Aerospace has a 12-month low of $159.36 and a 12-month high of $281.50.

GE Aerospace (NYSE:GE - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 17th. The company reported $1.66 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.43 by $0.23. GE Aerospace had a net margin of 18.64% and a return on equity of 31.32%. The firm had revenue of $10.15 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.49 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.20 earnings per share. GE Aerospace's revenue for the quarter was up 21.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts predict that GE Aerospace will post 5.4 EPS for the current year.

GE Aerospace Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 25th. Stockholders of record on Monday, July 7th were paid a $0.36 dividend. This represents a $1.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.5%. GE Aerospace's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 20.08%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have commented on the stock. Citigroup restated a "buy" rating and issued a $296.00 price objective (up from $227.00) on shares of GE Aerospace in a research note on Monday, July 14th. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price objective on shares of GE Aerospace from $275.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, July 18th. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of GE Aerospace from $230.00 to $295.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 23rd. UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of GE Aerospace from $300.00 to $321.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, July 18th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of GE Aerospace in a report on Friday. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, GE Aerospace currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $232.92.

GE Aerospace Company Profile

GE Aerospace (also known as General Electric) is a company that specializes in providing aerospace products and services. It operates through two reportable segments: Commercial Engines and Services and Defense and Propulsion Technologies. It offers jet and turboprop engines, as well as integrated systems for commercial, military, business, and general aviation aircraft.