General Electric Hits Target Price Hike Trifecta

NEW YORK (TheStreet)--General Electric (GE) saw three analysts raise their target prices on the company Friday, a day after the company raised sales targets for its industrial unit during a meeting with investors.

Barclays analyst Scott Davis and Nomura's Shannon O'Callaghan both upped their target prices to $25, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. O'Callaghan, whose previous target was $22, maintained a buy rating on the stock. Davis, whose previous target was $24, maintained his overweight rating. Also raising his target price was Markus Friebel of Independent Research Gmbh--to $23.5 from $23. Friebel maintained a hold recommendation, however. GE shares, which gained 2.85% Thursday as the meeting went on, were up another 0.57% to $22.86 shortly after Friday's opening bell.

O'Callaghan argues industrial margin improvement and better-than-peer organic growth, a smaller financial unit, large backlogs, buybacks, dividend growth and acquisitions of $1-3 billion, as well as higher multiples for financial stocks generally, suggest GE should trade at a higher price-to-earnings multiple than it does currently.

JPMorgan analyst Steve Tusa, while leaving his target price unchanged Friday, called Thursday's meeting "incrementally better than high expectations, reaffirming a differentiated story that shows 10%+ industrial earnings growth, best in class organic growth, and margin expansion."

The reports from Friebel and Davis could not immediately be obtained.

-- Written by Dan Freed in New York.

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