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Iconic industrial giant General Electric (NYSE:GE) is sometimes considered a dinosaur company by today’s thrill-seeking traders. Unfortunately, GE stock is rarely mentioned when it comes to notable clean-energy investments.
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Of course, it’s also easy to get distracted by some of the red-hot green-energy stocks available on the market today.
Don’t get me wrong, I do like companies like FuelCell Energy (NASDAQ:FCEL) and other buzz-worthy new-energy name. Plus, with the Joe Biden administration set to promote clean-energy initiatives, it’s perfectly fine to augment your portfolio with some of those stocks.
But you might also want to consider making room for an often-forgotten name like General Electric. In fact, this old standby is still an ambitious innovator.
A Closer Look at GE Stock
It’s going to take an awful lot of work for the GE stock bulls to reclaim the 2000 peak of $57. It could take years to get back to that point, so that’s probably not a realistic price target for 2021.
Instead, the bulls can set their sights on the 2020 high of $13.26. That’s at least within the realm of possibility, as GE finished the year at $10.80.
But, while we’re looking back at the year, we should also observe that the bulls made excellent progress during the third quarter of this year. Bear in mind that, at the beginning of October, GE stock was trading at $6 and change.
Now, what about the stock’s valuation? Currently, General Electric has a trailing 12-month price-to-earnings ratio of 27.69. That’s not a major bargain, but it’s not massively overpriced either.
Finally, though, I should note that GE only offers a forward annual dividend yield of 0.37%. Hopefully, it will increase that number at some point so that income-focused investors can generate more yield.
A New Focus
Back in September, General Electric stunned the energy sector by announcing that it was going to stop making coal-fired power plants entirely. With that, GE made it crystal clear that it intends to focus more on renewable energy.
Oddly enough — and I would say irrationally — the market reacted negatively, though. It gave GE stock a near 8% haircut on the announcement.
However, irrespective of the skeptics and doubters, General Electric Senior Vice President Russell Stokes kept his cool and maintained a more positive outlook. He noted, “With the continued transformation of GE, we are focused on power generation businesses that have attractive economics and a growth trajectory.”
And it seems that Stokes was right to keep his cool — as it turns out, GE Renewable Energy ended up reporting an impressive Q3 profit of $5 million.
A Quiet Giant
While traders on financial message boards are busy debating about the future prospects of FuelCell Energy and other companies, I fear that they’re sleeping on a low-key renewable-energy giant.
For instance, on the GE Renewable Energy segment’s website, I actually learned a new term: “green electrons.” Evidently, General Electric is delivering them to the world’s biggest economies.
So, what’s beyond dispute is that General Electric has a vast presence in the global clean-energy revolution. The company cites installing 400 gigawatts of renewable energy across the globe, including 40,000 wind turbines and 25% of the world’s hydropower installations. Plus, GE notes that “90% of utilities [are] equipped with our grid solutions.”
Now, want to talk about staying on the cutting edge? Get this: the company is also reportedly planning to help develop wind turbines made of “3D-printed concrete.”
Why would General Electric do that? One GE Renewable Energy representative explains:
“3D concrete printing has advanced significantly over the last five years […] We are committed to take full advantage of this technology both from the design flexibility it allows as well as for the logistic simplification it enables on such massive components.”
Bottom Line
So, it’s okay to firm up your green-energy holdings with some of the newer companies on the block right now. Just make sure you’re not counting any older names out of the running for no good reason.
In my opinion, GE is one of these promising picks. It’s an older company that’s still ready and able to join the movement. In other words, GE stock is as legitimate a clean-energy stock as any rival on the market.
On the date of publication, David Moadel did not have (either directly or indirectly) any positions in the securities mentioned in this article.
David Moadel has provided compelling content -and crossed the occasional line -on behalf of Crush the Street, Market Realist, TalkMarkets, Finom Group, Benzinga, and (of course) InvestorPlace.com. He also serves as the chief analyst and market researcher for Portfolio Wealth Global and hosts the popular financial YouTube channel Looking at the Markets.
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The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.
