General Electric shares could hit $16 in 12 months, says William Blair

General Electric shares are likely to "materially outperform" the market over the next 12 months, during which time the stock could rise to $14-$16 or more, William Blair analyst Nicholas Heymann tells investors in a research note after visiting the company's headquarters. The stock closed yesterday up 16c to $10.28. CEO Larry Culp has recently spent a disproportionate amount of his time transforming how GE Power is fundamentally managed, not just operationally right-sized and restructured, adds the analyst. Heymann believes that as confidence grows in Power's turnaround and GE's financial leverage declines further, confidence in the company's outlook is likely to rise. So far in 2019, GE has reported 4 GW of large gas turbine orders and "far less-adverse-than-feared" free cash flow use in Q1, according to the analyst. While likely to report more negative free cash flow use in 2019 than 2018, GE now expects Power to be profitable this year, he points out. Heymann keeps an Outperform rating on General Electric.