General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD) Sees Large Increase in Short Interest

General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD) was the recipient of a large increase in short interest in August. As of August 31st, there was short interest totalling 2,320,000 shares, an increase of 21.5% from the August 15th total of 1,910,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 1,090,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.1 days. Currently, 0.9% of the shares of the stock are sold short.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On General Dynamics

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in GD. Gilbert & Cook Inc. lifted its position in General Dynamics by 5.1% during the 4th quarter. Gilbert & Cook Inc. now owns 2,509 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $652,000 after acquiring an additional 122 shares during the period. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of General Dynamics by 11.9% during the fourth quarter. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC now owns 1,455 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $388,000 after purchasing an additional 155 shares in the last quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of General Dynamics by 8.1% during the fourth quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 1,762 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $458,000 after purchasing an additional 132 shares during the last quarter. Great Lakes Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of General Dynamics by 33.0% in the 4th quarter. Great Lakes Advisors LLC now owns 19,166 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $4,977,000 after purchasing an additional 4,752 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Level Four Advisory Services LLC grew its stake in shares of General Dynamics by 6.6% in the 4th quarter. Level Four Advisory Services LLC now owns 5,691 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $1,478,000 after buying an additional 353 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.14% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on GD shares. Sanford C. Bernstein upped their price objective on General Dynamics from $290.00 to $302.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, May 23rd. Morgan Stanley raised General Dynamics from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $293.00 to $345.00 in a research note on Friday, August 9th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of General Dynamics from $330.00 to $334.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 25th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of General Dynamics in a report on Monday, July 29th. Finally, Barclays boosted their price target on shares of General Dynamics from $310.00 to $325.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 30th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $315.06.

General Dynamics Trading Down 1.2 %

General Dynamics stock traded down $3.83 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $303.72. 459,972 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,060,863. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $293.02 and its 200 day moving average price is $290.34. General Dynamics has a 52-week low of $214.53 and a 52-week high of $309.97. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a current ratio of 1.33 and a quick ratio of 0.80. The firm has a market capitalization of $83.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.86, a P/E/G ratio of 1.64 and a beta of 0.61.

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 24th. The aerospace company reported $3.26 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.30 by ($0.04). The company had revenue of $11.98 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $11.46 billion. General Dynamics had a return on equity of 16.74% and a net margin of 7.89%. General Dynamics’s quarterly revenue was up 18.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $2.70 earnings per share. On average, analysts anticipate that General Dynamics will post 14.52 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

General Dynamics Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 15th. Investors of record on Friday, October 11th will be paid a $1.42 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 11th. This represents a $5.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.87%. General Dynamics’s payout ratio is 46.33%.

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.