General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD) Receives $323.69 Average PT from Analysts

General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD) has been assigned a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the eighteen brokerages that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. The average 12-month price target among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $323.69.

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on shares of General Dynamics from $320.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Seaport Res Ptn lowered General Dynamics from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, October 11th. Citigroup boosted their target price on General Dynamics from $331.00 to $354.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Susquehanna upped their target price on General Dynamics from $333.00 to $352.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, TD Cowen raised shares of General Dynamics to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th.

Insider Activity

In other General Dynamics news, Director Peter A. Wall sold 1,320 shares of General Dynamics stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 16th. The shares were 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $1,106,515.60. The trade was a 26.87 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, VP Christopher J. Brady sold 5,540 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 approximately $5,701,349.36. The trade was a 21.44 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 1.52% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On General Dynamics

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of General Dynamics by 241.7% during 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 bought a new position in shares of General Dynamics during the third quarter valued at approximately $26,000. American Capital Advisory LLC bought a new position in shares of General Dynamics in the 2nd quarter worth $29,000. Lowe Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of General Dynamics during the third quarter valued at about $30,000. Finally, Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in General Dynamics by 120.0% in the second quarter. Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC now owns 110 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 60 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 86.14% of the company’s stock.

General Dynamics Stock Performance

Shares of GD stock opened at $271.80 on Friday. General Dynamics has a fifty-two week low of $247.36 and a fifty-two week high of $316.90. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $295.43 and its two-hundred day moving average is $294.82. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 1.32 and a quick ratio of 0.80. The firm has a market cap of $74.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.70, a PEG ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 0.59.

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 the consensus estimate 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 7.90% and a return on equity of 16.59%. General Dynamics’s revenue was up 10.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $3.04 EPS. Analysts predict that General Dynamics will post 13.87 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

General Dynamics declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback program on Wednesday, December 4th that allows the company to buyback 10,000,000 outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the aerospace company to reacquire shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are often a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

General Dynamics Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 7th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 17th will be paid a $1.42 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 17th. This represents a $5.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.09%. General Dynamics’s dividend payout ratio is presently 43.26%.

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.