General Electric (NYSE:GE) Short Interest Down 10.9% in March

General Electric (NYSE:GE - Get Free Report) was the target of a significant drop in short interest in the month of March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totalling 11,360,000 shares, a drop of 10.9% from the March 15th total of 12,750,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 6,880,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 1.7 days. Currently, 1.0% of the company's stock are short sold.

General Electric Stock Performance

General Electric stock traded down $0.92 on Monday, hitting $153.71. The company's stock had a trading volume of 6,419,194 shares, compared to its average volume of 8,053,736. General Electric has a one year low of $76.38 and a one year high of $158.68. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 1.18 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $158.14 and a 200-day moving average price of $133.49. The firm has a market cap of $168.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.36, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.03 and a beta of 1.29.

General Electric (NYSE:GE - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, January 23rd. The conglomerate reported $1.03 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.90 by $0.13. The company had revenue of $19.42 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $17.27 billion. General Electric had a net margin of 13.95% and a return on equity of 10.88%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 15.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.24 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that General Electric will post 3.78 earnings per share for the current year.

General Electric Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 25th. Investors of record on Monday, April 15th will be given a dividend of $0.28 per share. This is an increase from General Electric's previous quarterly dividend of $0.08. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 12th. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.73%. General Electric's dividend payout ratio is 13.38%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Michael J. Holston sold 22,055 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $144.87, for a total transaction of $3,195,107.85. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 56,284 shares in the company, valued at $8,153,863.08. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other General Electric news, SVP Michael J. Holston sold 22,055 shares of General Electric stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $144.87, for a total value of $3,195,107.85. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 56,284 shares in the company, valued at $8,153,863.08. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Michael J. Holston sold 13,601 shares of General Electric stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $135.55, for a total transaction of $1,843,615.55. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 48,339 shares of the company's stock, valued at $6,552,351.45. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.66% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in GE. Sei Investments Co. lifted its position in General Electric by 10.0% during the 1st quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 305,384 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $27,925,000 after purchasing an additional 27,682 shares during the period. Prudential PLC acquired a new position in General Electric during the 1st quarter valued at about $1,518,000. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of General Electric by 2.9% in the 1st quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 11,748 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $1,075,000 after acquiring an additional 334 shares during the last quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of General Electric in the 1st quarter valued at about $388,000. Finally, West Family Investments Inc. bought a new stake in shares of General Electric in the 1st quarter valued at about $230,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 74.77% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on shares of General Electric from $200.00 to $165.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 4th. TD Cowen raised shares of General Electric from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and lifted their price target for the company from $175.00 to $180.00 in a research report on Tuesday, April 9th. Vertical Research initiated coverage on shares of General Electric in a research report on Thursday, April 4th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $160.00 price target on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on shares of General Electric from $180.00 to $148.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 2nd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada dropped their target price on shares of General Electric from $180.00 to $160.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 4th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $160.07.

About General Electric

General Electric Company operates as a high-tech industrial company in Europe, China, Asia, the Americas, the Middle East, and Africa. It offers gas and steam turbines, full balance of plant, upgrade, and service solutions, as well as data-leveraging software for power generation, industrial, government, and other customers.