GE Aerospace (NYSE:GE) Shares Up 1.3% - Should You Buy?

GE Aerospace (NYSE:GE - Get Free Report)'s share price traded up 1.3% during trading on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $213.88 and last traded at $212.72. 1,019,157 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 81% from the average session volume of 5,343,181 shares. The stock had previously closed at $209.92.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

GE has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on GE Aerospace from $190.00 to $210.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Bank of America lifted their price target on GE Aerospace from $200.00 to $225.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. Northcoast Research upgraded GE Aerospace from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $205.00 price target on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. Redburn Atlantic initiated coverage on GE Aerospace in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. They set a "buy" rating and a $250.00 price target on the stock. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price target on GE Aerospace from $207.00 to $216.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $216.92.

GE Aerospace Stock Up 1.8%

The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $195.24 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $187.97. The company has a market cap of $233.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.52, a PEG ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 1.31. The company has a quick ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 1.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.88.

GE Aerospace (NYSE:GE - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 22nd. The company reported $1.49 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.29 by $0.20. GE Aerospace had a return on equity of 22.19% and a net margin of 14.31%. The company had revenue of $9.94 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $9.06 billion. As a group, equities analysts forecast that GE Aerospace will post 5.4 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

GE Aerospace Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 25th. Investors of record on Monday, March 10th were given a dividend of $0.36 per share. This represents a $1.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.66%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 10th. This is a boost from GE Aerospace's previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. GE Aerospace's payout ratio is currently 22.40%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other GE Aerospace news, SVP Mohamed Ali sold 1,602 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $200.67, for a total value of $321,473.34. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 8,805 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,766,899.35. This represents a 15.39% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, VP Robert M. Giglietti sold 4,104 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $196.73, for a total value of $807,379.92. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 11,540 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,270,264.20. This trade represents a 26.23% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.21% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On GE Aerospace

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in GE. Czech National Bank raised its holdings in GE Aerospace by 6.2% in the 4th quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 234,663 shares of the company's stock valued at $39,139,000 after acquiring an additional 13,778 shares in the last quarter. Clark & Stuart Inc acquired a new position in GE Aerospace in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $291,000. Winthrop Advisory Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of GE Aerospace by 14.6% in the 4th quarter. Winthrop Advisory Group LLC now owns 1,689 shares of the company's stock worth $282,000 after buying an additional 215 shares in the last quarter. Fiduciary Alliance LLC raised its holdings in shares of GE Aerospace by 176.7% in the 4th quarter. Fiduciary Alliance LLC now owns 3,528 shares of the company's stock worth $588,000 after buying an additional 2,253 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Trust Co. of Toledo NA OH raised its holdings in shares of GE Aerospace by 43.2% in the 4th quarter. Trust Co. of Toledo NA OH now owns 4,637 shares of the company's stock worth $773,000 after buying an additional 1,399 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 74.77% of the company's stock.

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.