General Electric Company boosted its earnings forecast yesterday and moved ahead with a strategy of returning to double-digit profit growth by shedding slow-growth businesses and eying more lucrative opportunities.

The Fairfield, Conn.-based industrial, financial, and broadcasting company also said it expects to collect about $2.6 billion related to stock sales in its insurance business, Genworth Financial. GE is selling off less profitable businesses, such as insurance, and expanding into faster growth areas such as consumer and commercial finance.

GE cited the Genworth deal and strong performance across its businesses as it lifted its first-quarter earnings target to 37 cents to 38 cents a share, up from 36 cents to 37 cents per share. It also backed its full-year earnings estimate of $1.76 to $1.83 per share.

Wall Street’s average forecasts for GE are currently 37 cents a share for the quarter and $1.81 a share for the year, based on a survey of 19 analysts by Thomson First Call.

“GE’s end markets continue to show solid growth, and our businesses are performing very well,” said the company’s chief executive, Jeff Immelt.

GE shares rose 54 cents to $36.04 in trading Thursday afternoon on the New York Stock Exchange, approaching its 52-week high of $37.75.

“Earnings are accelerating,” said a principal and research director of Langenberg & Company in Oak Park, Ill., Brian Langenberg. “We expect the first quarter to be strong across the entire sector.”

GE often produced double-digit profit growth during the 1990s, but earnings have been sluggish the past three years as major businesses such as gas turbines for power plants have slowed.

GE’s profit jumped 18% in the fourth quarter and is expected to grow 12% to 17% this year.

GE said it priced the secondary offering of 80.5 million shares of Genworth class A common stock at $26.50 a share. The company sold 30% of Genworth last year in an initial public offering, and is reducing its insurance holdings as it seeks to exit the insurance business.

At the time the offer closes, GE said that Genworth will buy back about 19.4 million shares of its class B common stock from GE for $500 million.

GE said it would receive proceeds of about $2.6 billion from the secondary offering and the share buyback, and would own about 52% of Genworth’s common stock.

GE said it plans to use the proceeds to pay off “parent-supported” debt at GE Capital, allowing GE Capital to raise the dividend it pays GE from 10% to 40% of its earnings starting in the second quarter. That increases the company’s cash flow.

GE also was named as a potential bidder for a Dutch commercial finance and investment bank valued at more than $3 billion in what would be the company’s latest expansion in Europe. GE is considering a bid for Dutch bank NIB Capital, The Wall Street Journal reported yesterday, citing unidentified people close to the deal.

GE officials declined to comment.

The company has been expanding in Europe in recent years through acquisitions of consumer and commercial finance businesses.