General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) Cut to “Peer Perform” at Wolfe Research

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) was downgraded by stock analysts at Wolfe Research from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a note issued to investors on Wednesday, MarketBeat Ratings reports.

Other analysts have also issued research reports about the stock. Barclays raised their price target on shares of General Dynamics from $325.00 to $330.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 29th. Citigroup lifted their target price on shares of General Dynamics from $331.00 to $354.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Susquehanna boosted their price target on shares of General Dynamics from $333.00 to $352.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on shares of General Dynamics from $320.00 to $330.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, Seaport Res Ptn lowered shares of General Dynamics from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, October 11th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $317.38.

General Dynamics Stock Performance

NYSE:GD opened at $263.04 on Wednesday. General Dynamics has a 1 year low of $247.36 and a 1 year high of $316.90. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $293.31 and a 200-day moving average of $294.20. The company has a current ratio of 1.32, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. The stock has a market capitalization of $72.33 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.07, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.67 and a beta of 0.59.

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The aerospace company reported $3.35 earnings per share (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 the consensus estimate of $11.65 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $3.04 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 10.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that General Dynamics will post 13.87 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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

Insider Activity at General Dynamics

In other General Dynamics news, VP Christopher J. Brady sold 5,540 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $280.91, for a total transaction of $1,556,241.40. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 20,296 shares in the company, valued at $5,701,349.36. This represents a 21.44 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Peter A. Wall sold 1,320 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $308.05, for a total transaction of $406,626.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 3,592 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,106,515.60. The trade was a 26.87 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.52% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of General Dynamics

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in GD. Coston McIsaac & Partners boosted its position in General Dynamics by 22.8% in the third quarter. Coston McIsaac & Partners now owns 178 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $53,000 after buying an additional 33 shares in the last quarter. Global X Japan Co. Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of General Dynamics by 2.3% during the third quarter. Global X Japan Co. Ltd. now owns 1,482 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $448,000 after purchasing an additional 33 shares during the period. Grove Bank & Trust lifted its holdings in shares of General Dynamics by 10.6% during the third quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 354 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $107,000 after purchasing an additional 34 shares during the period. Trueblood Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of General Dynamics by 1.6% during the third quarter. Trueblood Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,223 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $672,000 after purchasing an additional 34 shares during the period. Finally, Modera Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of General Dynamics by 0.4% during the second quarter. Modera Wealth Management LLC now owns 8,120 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $2,356,000 after purchasing an additional 35 shares during the period. 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.