How to buy General Electric shares

General Electric Company is a specialty industrial machinery business with stocks listed in the US. General Electric shares (GE) are listed on the NYSE and all prices are listed in US Dollars. Its last market close was US$13.96 – a decrease of 0.71% over the previous week. Here's how to invest if you're based in Australia.

How to buy shares in General Electric

1. Compare share trading platforms. To buy shares in a US company from Australia you'll need to find a trading platform that offers access to US stock markets. If you're just starting out, look for a platform with low brokerage and foreign exchange fees.
2. Open and fund your brokerage account. Complete an application with your personal and financial details, like your ID and tax file number. Fund your account with a bank transfer, credit card or debit card.
3. Search for General Electric. Find the share by name or ticker symbol: GE. Research its history to confirm it's a solid investment against your financial goals.
4. Purchase now or later. Buy today with a market order or use a limit order to delay your purchase until General Electric reaches your desired price. To spread out your risk, look into dollar-cost averaging, which smooths out buying at consistent intervals and amounts.
5. Decide on how many to buy. At last close price of US$13.96, weigh your budget against a diversified portfolio that can minimise risk through the market's ups and downs. You may be able to buy a fractional share of General Electric, depending on your broker.
6. Check in on your investment. Congratulations, you own a part of General Electric. Optimise your portfolio by tracking how your stock — and even the business — performs with an eye on the long term. You may be eligible for dividends and shareholder voting rights on directors and management that can affect your stock.

General Electric share price

Use our graph to track the performance of GE stocks over time.

General Electric shares at a glance

• Key figures

Information last updated 2021-06-10.

52-week range	US$5.9104 - US$14.415
50-day moving average	US$13.432
200-day moving average	US$12.3208
Target price	US$14.97
PE ratio	N/A
Dividend yield	US$0.04 (0.29%)
Earnings per share (TTM)	US$0.576

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The value of your investments can fall as well as rise and you may get back less than you invested. Past performance is no indication of future results.

Is it a good time to buy General Electric stock?

The technical analysis gauge below displays real-time ratings for the timeframes you select. This is not a recommendation, however. It represents a technical analysis based on the most popular technical indicators: Moving Averages, Oscillators and Pivots. Finder might not concur and takes no responsibility.

Technical Analysis of General Electric Company by TradingView

General Electric price performance over time

Historical closes compared with the last close of $13.96

1 month (2021-05-13)	7.63%
3 months (2021-03-12)	10.97%
6 months (2020-12-11)	25.09%

1 year (2020-06-12)	92.55%
2 years (2019-06-13)	35.40%
3 years (2018-06-13)	4.55%
5 years (2016-06-13)	-51.32%

Is General Electric under- or over-valued?

Valuing General Electric stock is incredibly difficult, and any metric has to be viewed as part of a bigger picture of General Electric's overall performance. However, analysts commonly use some key metrics to help gauge the value of a stock.

General Electric's PEG ratio

General Electric's "price/earnings-to-growth ratio" can be calculated by dividing its P/E ratio by its growth – to give 10.984. A low ratio can be interpreted as meaning the shares offer better value, while a higher ratio can be interpreted as meaning the shares offer worse value.

The PEG ratio provides a broader view than just the P/E ratio, as it gives more insight into General Electric's future profitability. By accounting for growth, it could also help you if you're comparing the share prices of multiple high-growth companies.

General Electric's EBITDA

General Electric's EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation) is US$5.7 billion.

The EBITDA is a measure of a General Electric's overall financial performance and is widely used to measure a its profitability.

General Electric financials

Revenue TTM	US$77.2 billion
Gross profit TTM	US$13.5 billion
Return on assets TTM	-0.06%
Return on equity TTM	-1.35%
Profit margin	-4.27%
Book value	3.825
Market capitalisation	US$121.1 billion

TTM: trailing 12 months

Shorting General Electric shares

There are currently 111.3 million General Electric shares held short by investors – that's known as General Electric's "short interest". This figure is 4.1% up from 106.9 million last month.

There are a few different ways that this level of interest in shorting General Electric shares can be evaluated.

General Electric's "short interest ratio" (SIR)

General Electric's "short interest ratio" (SIR) is the quantity of General Electric shares currently shorted divided by the average quantity of General Electric shares traded daily (recently around 62.9 million). General Electric's SIR currently stands at 1.77. In other words for every 100,000 General Electric shares traded daily on the market, roughly 1770 shares are currently held short.

However General Electric's short interest can also be evaluated against the total number of General Electric shares, or, against the total number of tradable General Electric shares (the shares that aren't held by "insiders" or major long-term shareholders – also known as the "float"). In this case General Electric's short interest could be expressed as 0.01% of the outstanding shares (for every 100,000 General Electric shares in existence, roughly 10 shares are currently held short) or 0.0128% of the tradable shares (for every 100,000 tradable General Electric shares, roughly 13 shares are currently held short).

Such a low SIR usually points to an optimistic outlook for the share price, with fewer people currently willing to bet against General Electric.

Find out more about how you can short General Electric stock.

General Electric's environmental, social and governance track record

Environmental, social and governance (known as ESG) criteria are a set of three factors used to measure the sustainability and social impact of companies like General Electric.

When it comes to ESG scores, lower is better, and lower scores are generally associated with lower risk for would-be investors.

General Electric's total ESG risk score

Total ESG risk: 48.86

Socially conscious investors use ESG scores to screen how an investment aligns with their worldview, and General Electric's overall score of 48.86 (as at 12/31/2018) is pretty weak – landing it in it in the 97th percentile of companies rated in the same sector.

ESG scores are increasingly used to estimate the level of risk a company like General Electric is exposed to within the areas of "environmental" (carbon footprint, resource use etc.), "social" (health and safety, human rights etc.), and "governance" (anti-corruption, tax transparency etc.).

General Electric's environmental score

Environmental score: 16.69/100

General Electric's environmental score of 16.69 puts it squarely in the 6th percentile of companies rated in the same sector. This could suggest that General Electric is a leader in its sector terms of its environmental impact, and exposed to a lower level of risk.

General Electric's social score

Social score: 22.75/100

General Electric's social score of 22.75 puts it squarely in the 6th percentile of companies rated in the same sector. This could suggest that General Electric is a leader in its sector when it comes to taking good care of its workforce and the communities it impacts.

General Electric's governance score

Governance score: 16.42/100

General Electric's governance score puts it squarely in the 6th percentile of companies rated in the same sector. That could suggest that General Electric is a leader in its sector when it comes to responsible management and strategy, and exposed to a lower level of risk.

General Electric's controversy score

Controversy score: 3/5

ESG scores also evaluate any incidences of controversy that a company has been involved in. General Electric scored a 3 out of 5 for controversy – a middle-of-the-table result reflecting that General Electric hasn't always managed to keep its nose clean.

Environmental, social, and governance (ESG) summary

General Electric Company was last rated for ESG on: 2019-01-01.

Total ESG score	48.86
Total ESG percentile	96.96
Environmental score	16.69
Environmental score percentile	6
Social score	22.75
Social score percentile	6
Governance score	16.42
Governance score percentile	6
Level of controversy	3

General Electric share dividends

Dividend payout ratio: 2% of net profits

Recently General Electric has paid out, on average, around 2% of net profits as dividends. That has enabled analysts to estimate a "forward annual dividend yield" of 0.29% of the current stock value. This means that over a year, based on recent payouts (which are sadly no guarantee of future payouts), General Electric shareholders could enjoy a 0.29% return on their shares, in the form of dividend payments. In General Electric's case, that would currently equate to about $0.04 per share.

While General Electric's payout ratio might seem low, this can signify that General Electric is investing more in its future growth.

General Electric's most recent dividend payout was on 25 April 2021. The latest dividend was paid out to all shareholders who bought their shares by 4 March 2021 (the "ex-dividend date").

Have General Electric's shares ever split?

General Electric's shares were split on a 104:100 basis on 25 February 2019. So if you had owned 100 shares the day before before the split, the next day you'd have owned 104 shares. This wouldn't directly have changed the overall worth of your General Electric shares – just the quantity. However, indirectly, the new 3.8% lower share price could have impacted the market appetite for General Electric shares which in turn could have impacted General Electric's share price.

General Electric share price volatility

Over the last 12 months, General Electric's shares have ranged in value from as little as US$5.9104 up to US$14.415. A popular way to gauge a stock's volatility is its "beta".

Beta is a measure of a share's volatility in relation to the market. The market (NYSE average) beta is 1, while General Electric's is 1.0679. This would suggest that General Electric's shares are a little bit more volatile than the average for this exchange and represent, relatively-speaking, a slightly higher risk (but potentially also market-beating returns).

General Electric overview

General Electric Company operates as a high-tech industrial company worldwide. The company's Power segment offers heavy-duty and aeroderivative gas turbines for utilities, independent power producers, and industrial applications; maintenance, service, and upgrade solutions to plant assets and their operational lifecycle; steam power technology for fossil and nuclear applications, including boilers, generators, steam turbines, and air quality control systems; and advanced reactor technologies solutions comprising reactors, fuels, and support services for boiling water reactors. This segment also applies the science and systems of power conversion to provide motors, generators, automation, and control equipment; and drives for energy intensive industries, such as marine, oil and gas, mining, rail, metals, test systems, and water. Its Renewable Energy segment provides various solutions for its customers through combining onshore and offshore wind, blades, hydro, storage, solar, and grid solutions, as well as hybrid renewables and digital services offerings. The company's Aviation segment designs and produces commercial and military aircraft engines, integrated engine components, electric power, and mechanical aircraft systems; and provides aftermarket services. Its Healthcare segment develops, manufactures, markets, and services magnetic resonance, computed tomography, molecular imaging, x-ray and high-frequency soundwave systems, clinical monitoring and acute care systems, enterprise digital, artificial intelligence applications, consulting and command center, and complementary software and services; and researches, manufactures, and markets imaging agents. The company's Capital segment offers aviation leasing and financing, and working capital services; financial solutions and underwriting capabilities; and insurance and reinsurance for life and health risks, as well as annuity products. The company was founded in 1878 and is headquartered in Boston, Massachusetts.

Frequently asked questions

• What percentage of General Electric is owned by insiders or institutions?

  Currently 0.243% of General Electric shares are held by insiders and 65.369% by institutions.

• When does the fiscal year end for General Electric?

  General Electric's fiscal year ends in December.

• Where is General Electric based?

  General Electric's address is: 5 Necco Street, Boston, MA, United States, 02210

• What is General Electric's ISIN number?

  General Electric's international securities identification number is: US3696041033

• What is General Electric's CUSIP number?

  General Electric's Committee on Uniform Securities Identification Procedures number is: 369604103