Boeing shares close higher on Thursday, company appoints Brian West, former GE executive, as Chief Financial Officer

Boeing Co (BA) said this week that it had appointed former General Electric executive Brian West as its new Chief Financial Officer, effective August 27th.

Previously, West served as CFO of General Electric’s aviation and engine services businesses.

West and Boeing’s Chief Executive Officer David Calhoun had previously worked together at General Electric. West spent the 1990-2007 period at the industrial conglomerate, while Calhoun – the period between 1980 and 2006.

West has also been the CFO of Refinitiv since 2018.

Meanwhile, Boeing’s senior vice president Dave Dohnalek has been appointed as interim CFO until Brian West takes over.

Boeing shares closed higher for a second consecutive trading session in New York on Thursday. The stock inched up 0.07% ($0.17) to $239.73, after touching an intraday high at $241.79. The latter has been a price level not seen since June 29th ($244.22).

Shares of Boeing Company have risen 11.99% so far in 2021 compared with a 15.01% gain for the benchmark index, S&P 500 (SPX).

In 2020, Boeing’s stock went down 34.29%, thus, it again underperformed the S&P 500, which registered a 16.26% gain.

Analyst stock price forecast and recommendation

According to TipRanks, at least 9 out of 16 surveyed investment analysts had rated Boeing Co’s stock as “Buy”, while 7 – as “Hold”. The median price target on the stock stands at $274.21.