Barclays Boosts General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) Price Target to $330.00

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) had its price target hoisted by Barclays from $325.00 to $330.00 in a research report sent to investors on Tuesday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an overweight rating on the aerospace company’s stock.

GD has been the subject of a number of other reports. Morgan Stanley raised shares of General Dynamics from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $293.00 to $345.00 in a report on Friday, August 9th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of General Dynamics from $317.00 to $322.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Citigroup increased their price objective on shares of General Dynamics from $331.00 to $354.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Sanford C. Bernstein reduced their target price on General Dynamics from $343.00 to $331.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, Seaport Res Ptn lowered General Dynamics from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, October 11th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, General Dynamics has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $324.19.

General Dynamics Stock Performance

GD opened at $291.55 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a current ratio of 1.33 and a quick ratio of 0.80. General Dynamics has a 1-year low of $237.50 and a 1-year high of $313.11. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $300.80 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $294.97. The firm has a market cap of $80.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.78, a PEG ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 0.61.

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The aerospace company reported $3.35 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.48 by ($0.13). The business had revenue of $11.67 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $11.65 billion. General Dynamics had a net margin of 7.89% and a return on equity of 16.74%. General Dynamics’s revenue was up 10.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $3.04 earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that General Dynamics will post 14.27 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

General Dynamics Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 11th will be paid a $1.42 dividend. This represents a $5.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.95%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 11th. General Dynamics’s payout ratio is currently 46.33%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Peter A. Wall sold 1,320 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 completion of the transaction, the director now owns 3,592 shares in the company, valued at $1,106,515.60. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, 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 have recently added to or reduced their stakes in GD. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of General Dynamics by 241.7% during the third 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 during the period. Hara Capital LLC bought a new position in General Dynamics during the 3rd quarter worth about $26,000. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in General Dynamics during the 1st quarter valued at about $25,000. American Capital Advisory LLC bought a new stake in shares of General Dynamics in the 2nd quarter valued at about $29,000. Finally, Lowe Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of General Dynamics in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $30,000. 86.14% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About General Dynamics

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.