GE Shares Hit 14-Year Low

Shares of General Electric (GE Quote) hit their lowest levels in more than a decade, but a couple of portfolio managers who are underweight the stock say they aren't ready to add to their allocations.

GE shares closed down 6.8% to $9.38 on Friday, after hitting a 14-year low of $8.98 in intraday trading. Peter Klein, portfolio manager at Fifth Third Asset Management, says he would "like to see a more realistic assessment of their assets on their finance side," before he adds to his GE allocation, even though he believes the shares will eventually recover.

"I think once management starts to project a more realistic evaluation of their own assets and the possible delinquencies and charge-offs all the bad stuff that happens to them, then I think you'll see the stock start to reflect a more forward-looking as opposed to over-the-shoulder-looking type of progression," Klein says.

Bill Batcheller, director of investment management at Butler, Wick & Co., says that while he typically adds GE shares to new accounts, doing so has been painful in recent months.

"We've been so wrong so far that I just haven't been able to step up and go overweight," he says.

Batcheller does not see much potential for further bad news, however, as he believes the market is already pricing in a ratings downgrade and "they've already told you that they're not going to stand in front of a freight train for the dividend."

Still, Batcheller sees the need for a positive catalyst. "That catalyst is probably going to be some kind of stabilization of financials."