High p/e makes us wary

Article Excerpt

GE VERNOVA INC. $335 is a hold. The company (New York symbol GEV; Conservative Growth Portfolio, Manufacturing sector; Shares outstanding: 275.7 million; Market cap: $92.4 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 2.7; No dividend paid; TSINetwork Rating: Average; www.gevernova.com) makes turbines and related equipment for gas-fired and nuclear power plants, plus equipment for wind farms. On April 2, 2024, investors in the old General Electric Co. (New York symbol GE) received one share of GE Vernova for every four GE shares they held. Since then, the new shares have soared over 140%. In the quarter ended September 30, 2024, revenue rose 8.0%, to $8.91 billion from $8.25 billion a year earlier. Stronger sales of gas-fired power equipment and transmission grids offset weaker demand from wind power providers. Due to the costs related to the spinoff and higher interest charges, it lost $96 million, or $0.35 a share. That’s a big improvement over the year-earlier loss of $170 million, or $0.62 a share. GE Vernova’s projected earnings will probably rise…