General Electric (GE)
has been on the downside since making a short-term double top at
$42.15 on October 2, 2007. And on December 3, 2007 the stock closed
at $36.93, down $1.36 (3.55%), after Citi Investment Research analyst
Jeffrey T. Spraguea lowered his price target from $48 to $45 on
worries that problems in its consumer finance unit would hurt GE's
profits.
However, Sprague expects the company to raise its dividend, which
would help support the stock price.
Currently GE pays a $1.12 annual dividend for a 3.03 percent dividend
yield. And the company has a long record of increasing its dividends
(chart), making the stock an excellent choice for a long-term dividend
reinvestment program.