Spin-offs could be the key to a rebound for General Electric

Shares of General Electric (GE), which has been down over 50% since last year, rebounded slightly after the company announced plans to spin off its healthcare and power subsidiaries. Meanwhile, analysts are expecting an outperformance from the stock in the near-future after the separation.

Last week, the industrial conglomerate announced its intention to spin-off its healthcare unit and detach its 62.5% investment in Baker Hughes (BHGE) in an orderly manner over the next two to three years. GE’s spotlight will turn to aviation, power and renewable energy businesses. GE projects that it will retain its current quarterly dividend until GE Healthcare is incorporated as an independent entity.

GE Healthcare’s board is expected to adjust the dividend with a policy in line with industrial peers. In addition, GE plans to substantially diminish the balance sheet of GE Capital. The company is assuming about $3 billion capital contribution to GE Capital in 2019. Following the announcement, the company’s shares rose 7.8% on June 26.

Analysts are expecting an outperformance from the stock in the near-future after the separation

Meanwhile, a few brokerage firms including JP Morgan has advised investors to sell their stake in GE due to significant overvaluation, adding that business trends are not likely to improve next year. General Electric will voluntarily lower its dividend in the future, an analyst at JP Morgan told CNBC.

Meanwhile, a majority of the sell-side analysts are expecting the company to outperform once the separation is completed. This can be known from the recommendation trends wherein seven of the 17 analysts are recommending a “strong buy” or “buy” rating, while six are maintaining a “hold” rating.

The company is scheduled to report its second-quarter earnings on July 20 before the market opens. While GE recorded a 14% growth in adjusted earnings for the first quarter, Wall Street analysts estimate a 39.30% drop in earnings in the second quarter.