General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) Price Target Lowered to $305.00 at Barclays

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) had its price target trimmed by Barclays from $330.00 to $305.00 in a research note issued to investors on Monday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an overweight rating on the aerospace company’s stock.

Other equities analysts also recently issued research reports about the company. TD Cowen upgraded General Dynamics to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. Seaport Res Ptn downgraded General Dynamics from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, October 11th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut General Dynamics from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $283.00 to $245.00 in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their target price on shares of General Dynamics from $303.00 to $295.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 2nd. Finally, Citigroup lifted their price objective on shares of General Dynamics from $331.00 to $354.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, General Dynamics currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $311.29.

General Dynamics Stock Performance

Shares of GD opened at $257.89 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $70.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.64, a P/E/G ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 0.61. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $279.46 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $290.01. General Dynamics has a 52 week low of $247.36 and a 52 week high of $316.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a current ratio of 1.32.

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) last released its 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). The business had revenue of $11.67 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $11.65 billion. General Dynamics had a return on equity of 16.59% and a net margin of 7.90%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $3.04 earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that General Dynamics will post 13.84 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

General Dynamics Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 17th. This represents a $5.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.20%. General Dynamics’s dividend payout ratio is presently 43.26%.

General Dynamics declared that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase plan on Wednesday, December 4th that permits the company to buyback 10,000,000 outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the aerospace company to repurchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are generally a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Activity at General Dynamics

In other news, VP Christopher J. Brady sold 5,540 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $280.91, for a total value of $1,556,241.40. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 20,296 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,701,349.36. The trade was a 21.44 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 1.52% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of General Dynamics

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Capital Market Strategies LLC boosted its holdings in General Dynamics by 9.0% during the 4th quarter. Capital Market Strategies LLC now owns 1,492 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $393,000 after acquiring an additional 123 shares during the period. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division boosted its stake in shares of General Dynamics by 6.3% during the fourth quarter. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division now owns 1,683 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $443,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of General Dynamics by 17.5% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 297,577 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $89,928,000 after purchasing an additional 44,387 shares during the last quarter. FFG Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of General Dynamics by 3.5% in the third quarter. FFG Partners LLC now owns 19,875 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $6,006,000 after buying an additional 668 shares during the period. Finally, Retirement Systems of Alabama raised its holdings in General Dynamics by 12.4% during the 3rd quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama now owns 56,384 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $17,039,000 after buying an additional 6,231 shares during the last quarter. 86.14% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

General Dynamics Company Profile

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.