Despite General Electric Company (NYSE:GE) shares going up by the highest margin a single day in almost three years on Tuesday, the struggling industrial conglomerate finished the first quarter on a bad note finishing the last on the Dow Jones industrial average.
General Electric stock slumped more than 25 percent during the first quarter, dropping almost twice as much as Procter & Gamble, the next worst Dow stock.
The previous day, the shares fell to the lowest since July 2009. Traders’ speculation however leads to a rise the next day. According to unconfirmed reports, some big investors seem to be riding on the downtrodden conglomerate for a possible takeover.
There have been unconfirmed reports that Warren Buffett was considering to invest in General Electric. These reports were analyzed by RBC Capital Markets, which later concluded that the downtrodden state makes it ripe for the oracle of Omaha to invest.
In a statement, Deane Dray, an analyst at RBC said in many ways, the company’s situation makes it a target to investors of Warren Buffett status.
“In many ways, GE’s current situation fits the profile of an ideal Warren Buffett investment,” RBC analyst Deane Dray wrote in a note.
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The company is currently in the process restructuring itself and, recently three new directors. Despite these efforts however, this year has seen little to boost shareholders’ hopes. General Electric revealed that there are two ongoing federal investigations which started in the first two months of 2018: U.S. Justice Department investigation in connection with subprime mortgages and the SEC investigation into GE’s accounting practices. The company has posted poor earnings results has complicated the company’s situation even further.
RBC said restated a sector perform rating on the company and a price target of $16. This represents a 22%. There company has been on the down fall with investors worried over several issues. These include the risks which are associated with GE Capital lending business, the falling demand for its gas turbines and the ongoing probe by SEC into its accounting behavior. According to many bulls, the company is at its bottom and a Berkshire investment will be big catalyst to get the company back on its feet.