Virus slows recovery for GE investors

Article Excerpt

GENERAL ELECTRIC CO. $7.29 is still a hold. The company (New York symbol GE; Conservative Growth Portfolio, Manufacturing & Industry sector; Shares outstanding: 8.7 billion; Market cap: $63.4 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 0.7; Dividend yield: 0.6%; TSINetwork Rating: Average; www.ge.com) has three main businesses: aviation (jet engines and aircraft electronics); electrical power equipment (such as turbines and related equipment for gas-fired and nuclear power plants); and renewable power equipment (wind farms and hydroelectric plants). GE has now completed the sale of its BioPharma division to Danaher Corp. (New York symbol DHR). That business makes lab equipment for pharmaceutical companies developing new drugs. The company received $21.1 billion. That will help it pay down its total debt of $85.2 billion (as of March 31, 2020)—or a high 1.3 times its market cap. However, following the sale to Danaher, GE now gets most of its revenue from the jet engines it sells to aircraft makers Boeing and Airbus. That dependence on a few clients adds to its risk,…