JPMorgan analysts raised their rating on General Electric (NYSE:GE) stock from Neutral to Overweight and increased the target price from $166 to $180.
Analysts noted that at the Aero Investor Day, GE was recognized as the premier large-cap name in Commercial Aerospace, citing its strong business foundation, favorable position in the industry cycle, the expertise of its management team, and its solid balance sheet.
“Aero Investor Day targets highlighted multiple years of growth & margin expansion w/ a growing installed base and good visibility on GE backlog of new engines & maintenance needs,” JPMorgan analysts said.
“Investor Day also highlighted GE’s ability to deploy cash with the $15B repo authorization announced yesterday and plenty of cash left to return,” they added.
After the Investor Day, UBS analysts also hiked their price target on GE to $191 from $138, while maintaining a Buy rating.
The UBS team reiterated their positive views on the power, renewable energy, and aerospace company despite concerns over valuation by some observers in recent months.
The investment giant is instead focused on GE's potential for earnings per share (EPS) growth, drawn by its strengthening position in favorable markets.
“We see multi-year positive rate of change across all three of GE’s business lines and when combined with impressive execution and a $60B+ revenue base, GE continues to offer the most torque to positive rate of change across US Industrials,” analysts led by Chris Snyder wrote.