GE Aerospace (NYSE:GE) Shares Up 1.5% – Should You Buy?

GE Aerospace (NYSE:GE) shares were up 1.5% during mid-day trading on Friday . The company traded as high as $207.67 and last traded at $206.75. Approximately 739,580 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 87% from the average daily volume of 5,857,553 shares. The stock had previously closed at $203.61.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on GE. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on GE Aerospace from $212.00 to $222.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Citigroup dropped their target price on GE Aerospace from $235.00 to $227.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 10th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $220.00 price objective on shares of GE Aerospace in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Bank of America upped their price objective on shares of GE Aerospace from $200.00 to $225.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of GE Aerospace from $190.00 to $210.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, GE Aerospace currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $216.92.

GE Aerospace Stock Performance

The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $194.31 and a 200 day moving average price of $187.12. The company has a current ratio of 1.09, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.88. The firm has a market cap of $221.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.70, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 1.04.

GE Aerospace (NYSE:GE) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 22nd. The company reported $1.49 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.29 by $0.20. The company had revenue of $9.94 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.06 billion. GE Aerospace had a net margin of 14.31% and a return on equity of 22.19%. As a group, analysts predict that GE Aerospace will post 5.4 earnings per share for the current year.

GE Aerospace Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 25th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 10th were issued a dividend of $0.36 per share. This represents a $1.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.69%. This is a boost from GE Aerospace’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 10th. GE Aerospace’s dividend payout ratio is 22.40%.

Insider Transactions at GE Aerospace

In related news, VP Robert M. Giglietti sold 4,104 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $196.73, for a total transaction of $807,379.92. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 11,540 shares in the company, valued at $2,270,264.20. This represents a 26.23 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, SVP Mohamed Ali sold 1,602 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $200.67, for a total transaction of $321,473.34. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 8,805 shares in the company, valued at $1,766,899.35. This represents a 15.39 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.21% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of GE Aerospace

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Truvestments Capital LLC increased its holdings in GE Aerospace by 26.2% in the 4th quarter. Truvestments Capital LLC now owns 236 shares of the company’s stock valued at $39,000 after buying an additional 49 shares during the period. Ritter Daniher Financial Advisory LLC DE increased its stake in GE Aerospace by 17.6% in the fourth quarter. Ritter Daniher Financial Advisory LLC DE now owns 334 shares of the company’s stock valued at $56,000 after acquiring an additional 50 shares during the period. Hudock Inc. raised its position in GE Aerospace by 1.8% in the first quarter. Hudock Inc. now owns 2,905 shares of the company’s stock worth $582,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. Ballast Advisors LLC lifted its stake in GE Aerospace by 2.5% during the fourth quarter. Ballast Advisors LLC now owns 2,093 shares of the company’s stock worth $349,000 after purchasing an additional 51 shares during the period. Finally, First Pacific Financial boosted its holdings in GE Aerospace by 46.0% during 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 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.