Stock Traders Buy High Volume of GE Vernova Call Options (NYSE:GEV)

GE Vernova Inc. (NYSE:GEV) was the target of unusually large options trading activity on Friday. Stock investors purchased 27,441 call options on the stock. This represents an increase of approximately 38% compared to the typical daily volume of 19,957 call options.

GE Vernova Price Performance

Shares of NYSE GEV opened at $681.78 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $629.47 and a 200 day moving average of $611.97. The stock has a market cap of $184.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 111.04, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 1.67. GE Vernova has a 1 year low of $252.25 and a 1 year high of $731.00.

GE Vernova (NYSE:GEV) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 22nd. The company reported $1.64 EPS 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 quarter in the previous year, the business posted ($0.35) earnings per share. GE Vernova’s quarterly revenue was up 11.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts expect that GE Vernova will post 6.59 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

GE Vernova Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 2nd. Shareholders of record on Monday, January 5th will be paid a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, January 5th. This is an increase from GE Vernova’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.3%. GE Vernova’s payout ratio is presently 32.57%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On GE Vernova

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in GEV. Sachetta LLC raised its holdings in GE Vernova by 10.7% in the second quarter. Sachetta LLC now owns 165 shares of the company’s stock worth $87,000 after purchasing an additional 16 shares in the last quarter. Good Life Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in GE Vernova by 1.0% in the second quarter. Good Life Advisors LLC now owns 1,654 shares of the company’s stock valued at $875,000 after acquiring an additional 16 shares during the period. Bell Investment Advisors Inc boosted its stake in shares of GE Vernova by 6.7% during the 2nd quarter. Bell Investment Advisors Inc now owns 256 shares of the company’s stock worth $135,000 after acquiring an additional 16 shares in the last quarter. Northwest Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in shares of GE Vernova by 3.6% during the 3rd quarter. Northwest Wealth Management LLC now owns 465 shares of the company’s stock valued at $286,000 after buying an additional 16 shares in the last quarter. Finally, AMG National Trust Bank lifted its position in shares of GE Vernova by 1.5% in the second quarter. AMG National Trust Bank now owns 1,145 shares of the company’s stock valued at $606,000 after acquiring an additional 17 shares in the last quarter.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

GEV has been the subject of several recent research reports. Barclays upped their price objective on GE Vernova from $800.00 to $830.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 7th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of GE Vernova from $717.00 to $831.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 16th. Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of GE Vernova from $658.00 to $708.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, January 12th. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $761.00 price objective on shares of GE Vernova in a research note on Monday, December 22nd. Finally, Mizuho reduced their target price on shares of GE Vernova from $677.00 to $660.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, October 24th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-one have assigned a Buy rating, eight have issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $703.04.

About GE Vernova

GE Vernova is the energy-focused company formed from the energy businesses of General Electric and operates as a publicly listed entity on the NYSE under the ticker GEV. It is organized to design, manufacture and service equipment and systems used across the power generation and energy transition value chain, bringing together legacy capabilities in conventional power, renewables and grid technologies under a single corporate platform.

The company’s offerings span large-scale power-generation equipment such as gas and steam turbines and associated generators and controls, as well as renewable energy technologies including onshore and offshore wind platforms and hydro solutions.