General Electric shares close lower on Tuesday, AerCap acknowledges it is conducting aircraft-leasing business negotiations with GE

Irish firm AerCap Holdings NV on Tuesday acknowledged that it was conducting negotiations with General Electric Co (GE) to buy its aircraft-leasing business, known as GE Capital Aviation Services.

A report by Reuters earlier this week, citing sources with knowledge of the matter, stated that AerCap and General Electric were in talks aiming to establish an industry powerhouse with over 2,000 aircraft.

According to AerCap, the outcome of the negotiations is still to be determined and it is not certain if a final agreement will be reached.

“No further statements will be made by the issuers or the company regarding this matter until the time of the conclusion of those discussions,” AerCap Holdings said in a statement.

General Electric shares closed lower for the fourth time in the past ten trading sessions in New York on Tuesday. It has also been the steepest single-session loss since February 26th. The stock went down 1.20% ($0.17) to $14.00, after touching an intraday high at $14.41, or a price level not seen since June 27th 2018 ($14.44).

Shares of General Electric Company have risen 29.63% so far in 2021 compared with a 3.18% gain for the benchmark index, S&P 500 (SPX).

In 2020, General Electric’s stock went down 3.23%, thus, it underperformed the S&P 500, which registered a 16.26% gain.

Analyst stock price forecast and recommendation

According to CNN Money, the 17 analysts, offering 12-month forecasts regarding General Electric’s stock price, have a median target of $13.00, with a high estimate of $21.00 and a low estimate of $5.00. The median estimate represents a 7.14% downside compared to the closing price of $14.00 on March 9th.

The same media also reported that at least 14 out of 21 surveyed investment analysts had rated General Electric’s stock as “Buy”, while 7 – as “Hold”.