Nelson Peltz And GE's Investors Are Still Waiting For A Big Payoff

As noted by Bloomberg, activist investors Nelson Peltz praised GE back in October of last year when his investment firm Trian Fund Management bought $2.5 billion worth of GE's stock.

Meanwhile, GE's stock exited its worst quarter in more than two years having lost 5.9 percent for the three-month period ending September 30.

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Activist investors are notorious for not accepting a break-even investment when the funds could have been used elsewhere. Ordinary investors have also seen their investment in GE remain flat over the past year while the S&P 500 index gained around 5 percent.

Perhaps GE is suffering from an identity issue. Steve Tusa, an analyst at JPMorgan, told Bloomberg that GE is a solid company but investors "expect too much out of it."

The analyst added that there are also earnings risks attached to GE's stock, along with a weak underlying free cash flow.

Meanwhile, companies like Honeywell International Inc. HON and Dover Corp DOV spoiled the mood when the industrial companies revised their 2016 outlook lower. Investors won't be blamed to assume that a similar impact is being felt at GE.

At last check, GE was up 0.81 percent on the day at $29.20.

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