General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD) Receives Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD) has earned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the seventeen research firms that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and twelve have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month target price among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $305.56.

Several equities research analysts recently commented on GD shares. BTIG Research assumed coverage on shares of General Dynamics in a research report on Wednesday, June 26th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $345.00 price objective on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of General Dynamics from $291.00 to $322.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of General Dynamics from $280.00 to $298.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 25th. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of General Dynamics from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $305.00 to $335.00 in a research report on Monday, April 29th. Finally, Barclays boosted their price target on shares of General Dynamics from $285.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, April 15th.

General Dynamics Price Performance

Shares of GD stock opened at $281.91 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $77.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 0.60. General Dynamics has a 12-month low of $212.58 and a 12-month high of $302.75. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $293.69 and a 200-day moving average of $279.61. The company has a quick ratio of 0.87, a current ratio of 1.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41.

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 24th. The aerospace company reported $2.88 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.89 by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $10.73 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.26 billion. General Dynamics had a net margin of 7.85% and a return on equity of 16.48%. The company’s revenue was up 8.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.64 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts forecast that General Dynamics will post 14.56 earnings per share for the current year.

General Dynamics Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 9th. Investors of record on Friday, July 5th will be paid a $1.42 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, July 5th. This represents a $5.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.01%. General Dynamics’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 46.33%.

Insider Activity at General Dynamics

In related news, CEO Phebe N. Novakovic sold 49,850 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, April 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $284.50, for a total value of $14,182,325.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 768,977 shares in the company, valued at approximately $218,773,956.50. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other General Dynamics news, CFO Kimberly A. Kuryea sold 13,344 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $298.16, for a total transaction of $3,978,647.04. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 79,255 shares in the company, valued at approximately $23,630,670.80. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Phebe N. Novakovic sold 49,850 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, April 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $284.50, for a total transaction of $14,182,325.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 768,977 shares in the company, valued at approximately $218,773,956.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 118,486 shares of company stock worth $34,391,642. Insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of General Dynamics during the 4th quarter worth approximately $728,284,000. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its stake in shares of General Dynamics by 12.0% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 16,360,526 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $3,615,185,000 after acquiring an additional 1,755,276 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its stake in shares of General Dynamics by 10,763.2% during the fourth quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 923,593 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $239,829,000 after acquiring an additional 915,091 shares during the last quarter. Verity & Verity LLC bought a new position in shares of General Dynamics during the first quarter valued at $179,000. Finally, 1832 Asset Management L.P. raised its stake in shares of General Dynamics by 3,645.4% during the fourth quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. now owns 558,586 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $145,048,000 after acquiring an additional 543,672 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.