We still prefer the spinoff to its parent

Article Excerpt

The shares of industrial conglomerate General Electric have gained 55% since it decided to split into three separate firms in November 2021. The company now expects to complete the final spinoff in April 2024. While the breakup should ultimately benefit investors, the recent healthcare equipment spinoff is your better choice for new buying. GENERAL ELECTRIC CO. $130 remains a hold. The conglomerate (New York symbol GE; Conservative Growth Portfolio, Manufacturing & Industry sector; Shares outstanding: 1.1 billion; Market cap: $143.0 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 2.1; Dividend yield: 0.2%; TSINetwork Rating: Average; www.ge.com) completed the first stage of its breakup plan in January 2023 with the spinoff of GE HealthCare Technologies (see right). Investors received one share of the new firm for every three GE shares they held. Parent GE held 19.9% of GE HealthCare at the time of the spinoff, but recent share sales have cut its stake to 13.5%. The company now plans to spin off its renewable power business as GE Vernova in April…