General Electric shares close lower on Wednesday, industrial conglomerate inks power deals with Iraq for more than $1.2 billion

General Electric Company (GE) said on Wednesday that two new power deals had been signed with Iraq’s Ministry of Electricity.

GE Gas Power has inked a $500 million agreement aimed to “undertake critical upgrade, maintenance and service of several power plants that will improve efficiency and help maintain over 6,000 MW of electricity.”

Meanwhile, GE Renewable Energy’s Grid Solutions unit has signed a $727 million agreement to “reinforce Iraq’s transmission network, enhancing grid stability and interconnection with the electricity grid of Jordan.”

General Electric shares closed lower for a third consecutive trading session in New York on Wednesday. The stock went down 0.93% ($0.06) to $6.38, after touching an intraday low at $6.36, or a price level not seen since August 7th ($6.25).

Shares of General Electric Company have retreated 42.83% so far in 2020 compared with a 4.46% gain for the benchmark index, S&P 500 (SPX).

In 2019, General Electric’s stock went up 47.42%, thus, it outperformed the S&P 500, which registered a 28.88% gain.

The industrial conglomerate also announced that it was working with several export credit agencies to ensure over $1 billion in funding for the projects.

Earlier this week the Wall Street Journal reported that officials from the United States and Iraq were also considering to announce progress toward completion of natural gas and power-technology deals with Stellar Energy and Honeywell International Inc.

Analyst stock price forecast and recommendation

According to CNN Money, the 15 analysts, offering 12-month forecasts regarding General Electric’s stock price, have a median target of $8.00, with a high estimate of $11.00 and a low estimate of $5.00. The median estimate represents a 25.39% upside compared to the closing price of $6.38 on August 19th.

The same media also reported that at least 11 out of 19 surveyed investment analysts had rated General Electric’s stock as “Buy”, while 7 – as “Hold”.