Analysts Set General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD) PT at $304.53

Shares of General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD) have earned a consensus recommendation of “Hold” from the twenty-one ratings firms that are covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month price target among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $304.88.

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Seaport Res Ptn lowered General Dynamics from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, October 11th. Susquehanna lowered their target price on General Dynamics from $330.00 to $315.00 and set a “positive” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. TD Cowen upgraded General Dynamics to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. Citigroup lifted their price objective on shares of General Dynamics from $354.00 to $360.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, Wolfe Research lowered shares of General Dynamics from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th.

General Dynamics Trading Down 1.1 %

GD opened at $268.62 on Monday. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $271.10 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $288.01. The firm has a market capitalization of $73.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.46, a PEG ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 0.61. General Dynamics has a fifty-two week low of $247.88 and a fifty-two week high of $316.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 1.32 and a quick ratio of 0.80.

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The aerospace company reported $3.35 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.48 by ($0.13). General Dynamics had a net margin of 7.90% and a return on equity of 16.59%. The company had revenue of $11.67 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $11.65 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $3.04 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 10.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts predict that General Dynamics will post 13.73 earnings per share for the current year.

General Dynamics declared that its board has authorized a stock repurchase program on Wednesday, December 4th that allows the company to repurchase 10,000,000 shares. This repurchase authorization allows the aerospace company to buy shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are usually a sign that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

General Dynamics Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 7th. Investors of record on Friday, January 17th will be paid a $1.42 dividend. This represents a $5.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.11%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 17th. General Dynamics’s dividend payout ratio is currently 43.26%.

Insider Activity

In other General Dynamics news, VP Christopher J. Brady sold 5,540 shares of General Dynamics stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $280.91, for a total transaction of $1,556,241.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 20,296 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,701,349.36. The trade was a 21.44 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On General Dynamics

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of General Dynamics by 241.7% in the 3rd quarter. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 82 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 58 shares during the last quarter. Hara Capital LLC purchased a new position in General Dynamics in the third quarter worth $26,000. Lowe Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in General Dynamics in the third quarter valued at $30,000. Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in General Dynamics during the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. Finally, True Wealth Design LLC bought a new stake in General Dynamics during the third quarter worth about $34,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.14% of the company’s stock.

About General Dynamics

General Dynamics Corporation operates as an aerospace and defense company worldwide. It operates through four segments: Aerospace, Marine Systems, Combat Systems, and Technologies. The Aerospace segment produces and sells business jets; and offers aircraft maintenance and repair, management, aircraft-on-ground support and completion, charter, staffing, and fixed-base operator services.