Susquehanna Cuts General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) Price Target to $315.00

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) had its price objective cut by Susquehanna from $330.00 to $315.00 in a research note published on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. They currently have a positive rating on the aerospace company’s stock.

A number of other equities research analysts also recently issued reports on GD. Sanford C. Bernstein cut their price target on General Dynamics from $343.00 to $331.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their target price on General Dynamics from $303.00 to $295.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 2nd. The Goldman Sachs Group cut General Dynamics from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and reduced their price objective for the stock from $283.00 to $245.00 in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Seaport Res Ptn lowered shares of General Dynamics from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, October 11th. Finally, Wolfe Research downgraded General Dynamics from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $308.18.

General Dynamics Trading Down 0.8 %

Shares of General Dynamics stock opened at $259.38 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $71.32 billion, a PE ratio of 19.75, a PEG ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 0.61. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $276.54 and a 200-day moving average of $289.08. 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 announced its quarterly earnings data 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 firm had revenue of $11.67 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $11.65 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $3.04 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 10.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that General Dynamics will post 13.84 EPS for the current year.

General Dynamics Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 7th. Investors of record on Friday, January 17th will be given a dividend of $1.42 per share. This represents a $5.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.19%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 17th. General Dynamics’s payout ratio is 43.26%.

General Dynamics declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase program on Wednesday, December 4th that permits the company to repurchase 10,000,000 outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the aerospace company to reacquire shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are typically a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, VP Christopher J. Brady sold 5,540 shares of General Dynamics stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 1.52% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On General Dynamics

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in GD. Acadian Asset Management LLC raised its stake in shares of General Dynamics by 239.7% during the 2nd quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 8,075 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $2,341,000 after buying an additional 5,698 shares during the period. PFG Investments LLC increased its holdings in shares of General Dynamics by 22.1% during the 2nd quarter. PFG Investments LLC now owns 1,548 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $449,000 after buying an additional 280 shares during the last quarter. Prudential PLC raised its position in General Dynamics by 52.9% in the second quarter. Prudential PLC now owns 13,700 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $3,975,000 after purchasing an additional 4,739 shares during the period. Choreo LLC lifted its position in General Dynamics by 773.8% in the second quarter. Choreo LLC now owns 7,174 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $2,066,000 after buying an additional 6,353 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC increased its holdings in General Dynamics by 3.0% in the 2nd quarter. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC now owns 2,013 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $584,000 after purchasing an additional 58 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 86.14% of the company’s stock.

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.