General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) Cut to Hold at Baird R W

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) was downgraded by equities research analysts at Baird R W from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday,Zacks.com reports.

Several other brokerages also recently issued reports on GD. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on shares of General Dynamics from $295.00 to $279.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Wolfe Research lowered General Dynamics from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Barclays reduced their price objective on General Dynamics from $330.00 to $305.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Royal Bank of Canada downgraded General Dynamics from an “outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating and lowered their target price for the company from $330.00 to $290.00 in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Finally, Robert W. Baird reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $283.00 target price (down previously from $345.00) on shares of General Dynamics in a report on Tuesday. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, General Dynamics currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $304.53.

General Dynamics Stock Up 0.3 %

General Dynamics stock opened at $265.89 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $73.11 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.25, a PEG ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 0.61. 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 has a fifty-two week low of $247.36 and a fifty-two week high of $316.90. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $275.30 and a 200-day simple moving average of $288.61.

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 23rd. The aerospace company reported $3.35 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.48 by ($0.13). The firm had revenue of $11.67 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $11.65 billion. General Dynamics had a net margin of 7.90% and a return on equity of 16.59%. General Dynamics’s quarterly revenue was up 10.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $3.04 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that General Dynamics will post 13.84 earnings per share for the current year.

General Dynamics declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback plan on Wednesday, December 4th that authorizes the company to repurchase 10,000,000 shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the aerospace company to repurchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are typically an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Activity

In other 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 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 SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 1.52% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On General Dynamics

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in General Dynamics by 241.7% in the 3rd quarter. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 82 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 58 shares in the last quarter. Hara Capital LLC purchased a new position in General Dynamics during the third quarter worth $26,000. Lowe Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of General Dynamics in the third quarter worth $30,000. True Wealth Design LLC purchased a new stake in shares of General Dynamics in the third quarter valued at $34,000. Finally, Coston McIsaac & Partners boosted its stake in shares of General Dynamics by 22.8% during the third quarter. Coston McIsaac & Partners now owns 178 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $53,000 after acquiring an additional 33 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.