GE Decides to Move To Boston

After searching for months, General Electric (GE) has announced that is moving its headquarters from Fairfield, Connecticut, to Boston. The relocation will serve to benefit the industrial giant in several ways. While Fairfield is located in suburbia and is far from universities and transportation hubs, Boston is home to 55 colleges and universities and is home to Logan International Airport. This gives the company access to potentially thousands of graduates for new talent. The proximity of the airport will also allow the executives to more easily fly to locations around the world. Finally, the city is giving General Electric tax breaks on the company's property taxes of $25 million, and the state is providing incentives and grants totaling $120 million, resulting in significant savings. This also lines up with CEO Jeffrey Immelt's push to me the company in a more technologically savvy direction with its access to technology talent from the many educational institutions that Boston offers.

GE Will Sell Appliances Business to Haier

Recently, GE had to walk back from a proposed sale of its appliance business to Electrolux for $3.3 billion because of intense pushback from antitrust regulators in the U.S. Now, Haier (HRELY), a Chinese company, has announced that it will purchase GE's appliances business for $5.4 billion. Unlike the Electrolux (ELUXY) deal, experts do not believe the Haier purchase will receive much scrutiny from antitrust regulators since the company has little current presence in the U.S. This would be a boon to GE's push to streamline its business, focusing more on industry and less on other business lines.

Recent Deal With Alstom (ALSMY) Acquisition and Sale of GE Capital

Just in November, General Electric acquired Alstom's energy business for $10.6 billion, giving it more presence in the European market. GE also sold $104 billion worth of its assets with GE Capital. This has the potential to help the business maintain its health while also avoiding the regulatory burdens that have come after the financial crisis.

Upcoming Earnings: January 22nd

As GE is preparing to announce its 4th Quarter earnings on Jan. 22 before the bell, it is expected that both its annual and quarterly results will be lower. This is primarily due to the company's streamlining process as it has divested itself from lines in which it no longer wishes to have a significant presence. Its move to focus more on its industrial business may be better for the company's long-term prospects, however, and should set GE up for significant earnings and growth over time. In 2015, GE shocked everyone when its shares surged by 23 percent, easily beating the S&P 500 Index. While its stocks may not gain more than 20 percent this year, investors should enjoy solid returns for years to come.

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Recommendation: Time To Buy

Under the strong leadership of CEO Jeffrey Immelt, GE has made numerous changes in the past year that are helping it to transform into a company embracing technology and the demands of big business in modern times. The move to Boston will help the company access the talent it needs while also saving it money in taxes. The sale of the appliances business to Haier, the sell-off of GE Capital assets and the acquisition of Alstom all point the company in the direction in which Immelt wants to take it. These moves point to long-term growth, making GE a good buy for investors.