5 Reasons to Buy General Electric Company (GE) Stock

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Investors looking for a reasonably valued stock that is poised to benefit from the Trump presidency and the improvement of the global economy should buy General Electric Company (NYSE:GE). From Trump’s energy policy to his infrastructure plan to the better than expected economic performance of China, the U.S., and Europe, GE stock has a plethora of positive catalysts.

Five Reasons to Buy General Electric (GE) Stock

At the same time General Electric shares haven’t really risen all that much since the election — for a few reasons — and their valuation is still reasonable.

Positive Catalysts for GE Stock

Trump’s Energy Policy: Newly elected President Donald Trump is a major proponent of opening more land to oil drilling and fracking.

Following GE’s proposed $7.4 billion purchase of oil and gas services company Baker Hughes Incorporated (NYSE:BHI), which made GE the world’s second largest oilfield services company, the conglomerate is exceptionally well-positioned to benefit from Trump’s energy policy.

Of course, the combined GE oil & services-BHI entity — when it finally closes — is expected to be spun off as its own separately traded company, but anyone holding GE stock at the time should get a piece of that action, and thus will benefit regardless.

And as the Trump administration opens more areas to drilling and fracking, energy companies will need more equipment, products and services from GE.

Trump’s Infrastructure Initiative: General Electric’s large lighting unit should get a major boost from the president’s upcoming infrastructure initiative. The public-private partnerships expected to be implemented by the plan could be used to expand “public lighting.” Moreover, other types of infrastructure — including new roads, bridges and tunnels — need lights that GE can and does provide.

Trump’s Infrastructure Initiative (Part 2): Of course, factories can be pretty large buildings, and large buildings usually require a great deal of lighting. With its significant industrial lighting business, General Electric also is poised to benefit from the president’s well-publicized efforts to bring more factories to the U.S.

Macroeconomic Trends: The European Union recently increased its 2017 economic growth forecast to 1.8%, up from 1.6% previously, as “the EU’s economic recovery is taking hold.” Meanwhile, China’s GDP rose a better than expected 6.8% last quarter, and its economy appears to be stabilizing, while the U.S. economy is rapidly improving.

With major operations in all three areas, General Electric should benefit from the improving economies in those areas. Many of GE’s businesses, including transportation, aviation, lighting and oil and gas, are greatly impacted by economic growth trends.

Valuation: Unlike many stocks that are poised to get a boost from Trump’s policies, GE stock is reasonably valued right now, as it hasn’t gotten much of a boost since the November election. GE trades at a reasonable 16 times forward earnings projections, and it trades at just more than twice sales.

Bottom Line on GE Stock

General Electric sports a reasonable valuation and high leverage to the global economy and the Trump administration’s policies.

Couple those factors in with a 3.2% dividend yield at current prices, and GE stock looks like a quality addition at the moment.

As of this writing, Larry Ramer did not hold a position in any of the aforementioned securities.

Larry Ramer has conducted research and written articles on U.S. stocks for 15 years. He has been employed by The Fly and Israel’s largest business newspaper, Globes. Larry began writing columns for InvestorPlace in 2015. Among his highly successful, contrarian picks have been SMCI, INTC, and MGM. You can reach him on Stocktwits at @larryramer.


Article printed from InvestorPlace Media, https://investorplace.com/2017/02/5-reasons-to-buy-general-electric-company-ge-stock/.

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