GE Vernova (NYSE:GEV) Shares Gap Up – Still a Buy?

Shares of GE Vernova Inc. (NYSE:GEV) gapped up before the market opened on Thursday . The stock had previously closed at $614.19, but opened at $649.30. GE Vernova shares last traded at $644.0550, with a volume of 1,020,834 shares traded.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

GEV has been the subject of several research reports. Melius Research set a $740.00 target price on GE Vernova and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, September 15th. William Blair reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of GE Vernova in a report on Wednesday, December 10th. HSBC boosted their target price on shares of GE Vernova from $570.00 to $580.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, September 5th. Rothschild & Co Redburn reaffirmed a “sell” rating and set a $475.00 price target on shares of GE Vernova in a research note on Wednesday, October 15th. Finally, TD Cowen cut their price target on shares of GE Vernova from $685.00 to $680.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 23rd. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-two have given a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $690.56.

GE Vernova Price Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $176.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 106.12, a PEG ratio of 5.23 and a beta of 1.71. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $600.06 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $586.71.

GE Vernova (NYSE:GEV) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 22nd. The company reported $1.64 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.72 by ($0.08). GE Vernova had a return on equity of 17.07% and a net margin of 4.52%.The business had revenue of $9.97 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.15 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted ($0.35) earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 11.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts expect that GE Vernova Inc. will post 6.59 EPS for the current fiscal year.

GE Vernova Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 2nd. Shareholders of record on Monday, January 5th will be issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.3%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, January 5th. This is a positive change from GE Vernova’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. GE Vernova’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 16.29%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of GEV. Jackson Grant Investment Advisers Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of GE Vernova by 344.4% in the 3rd quarter. Jackson Grant Investment Advisers Inc. now owns 40 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 31 shares in the last quarter. Wealth Watch Advisors INC bought a new position in shares of GE Vernova in the third quarter valued at $25,000. WFA Asset Management Corp acquired a new position in shares of GE Vernova during the second quarter valued at about $29,000. 1248 Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of GE Vernova during the first quarter worth about $31,000. Finally, Howard Hughes Medical Institute bought a new stake in shares of GE Vernova during the second quarter worth about $31,000.

About GE Vernova

GE Vernova LLC, an energy business company, generates electricity. It operates under three segments: Power, Wind, and Electrification. The Power segments generates and sells electricity through hydro, gas, nuclear, and steam power. Wind segment engages in the manufacturing and sale of wind turbine blades; and Electrification segment provides grid solutions, power conversion, solar, and storage solutions.