Shares of General Electric Co. shed 1.1% in morning trade Tuesday, putting it for the lowest close in over six years, after Stifel Nicolaus cuts its price target, citing the industrial conglomerate’s “messy, underwhelming” results reported last week. Analyst Robert McCarthy kept his rating at hold, which he’s had on the stock for the past three months, but lowered his price target to $17 from $18. McCarthy said the continued challenges in GE’s core power business and continued headline surprises, such as the disclosure of an investigation by the Securities and Exchange Commission, should weigh on the stock for a long time. “Clearly, the fundamental turnaround of the core power biz is no easy quick fix, and the limited upside and transaction costs, and implicit GE Capital liability drag with a breakup are not compelling at all at these price levels in the $16 range…,” McCarthy wrote in a note to clients. The stock was trading at $16.10, which puts it in danger of the lowest close since Dec. 2, 2011. the stock has tumbled 21% over the past three months, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average has rallied 12%.
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