General Electric (NYSE:GE) Releases Quarterly Earnings Results, Beats Estimates By $0.17 EPS

General Electric (NYSE:GE) issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday. The conglomerate reported $0.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.65 by $0.17, RTT News reports. The company had revenue of $16.10 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.25 billion. General Electric had a net margin of 13.95% and a return on equity of 10.88%. The firm’s revenue was up 11.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.27 earnings per share.

General Electric Stock Performance

NYSE GE opened at $150.19 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $164.20 billion, a PE ratio of 17.94, a P/E/G ratio of 2.92 and a beta of 1.29. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 1.18. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $159.52 and a 200-day moving average of $135.03. General Electric has a 52-week low of $76.87 and a 52-week high of $158.68.

General Electric Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 25th. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 15th will be given a $0.28 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 12th. This is a positive change from General Electric’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.08. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.75%. General Electric’s dividend payout ratio is presently 13.38%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have issued reports on the company. StockNews.com started coverage on General Electric in a research note on Sunday. They issued a “hold” rating on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group cut their target price on General Electric from $195.00 to $180.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their price target on shares of General Electric from $210.00 to $190.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 3rd. TheStreet raised shares of General Electric from a “c+” rating to a “b+” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 23rd. Finally, Barclays lowered their price target on shares of General Electric from $181.00 to $175.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 3rd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $160.07.

Insider Activity at General Electric

In other General Electric news, SVP Michael J. Holston sold 13,601 shares of the firm’s 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 directly owns 48,339 shares in the company, valued at $6,552,351.45. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, SVP Michael J. Holston sold 22,055 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 owns 56,284 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,153,863.08. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, SVP Michael J. Holston sold 13,601 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $135.55, for a total transaction of $1,843,615.55. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 48,339 shares in the company, valued at $6,552,351.45. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.66% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.