General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD) Receives Consensus Recommendation of “Hold” from Analysts

Shares of General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD) have been assigned an average recommendation of “Hold” from the nineteen ratings firms that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. The average 12-month price objective among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $314.88.

GD has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Seaport Res Ptn downgraded General Dynamics from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, October 11th. Susquehanna raised their target price on General Dynamics from $333.00 to $352.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Royal Bank of Canada cut shares of General Dynamics from an “outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $330.00 to $290.00 in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “hold” rating and issued a $300.00 price objective (down previously from $345.00) on shares of General Dynamics in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, Barclays increased their target price on shares of General Dynamics from $325.00 to $330.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 29th.

General Dynamics Trading Up 0.0 %

Shares of GD stock opened at $263.49 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $72.45 billion, a PE ratio of 20.07, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 0.59. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a current ratio of 1.32. General Dynamics has a 1 year low of $247.36 and a 1 year high of $316.90. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $281.97 and a two-hundred day moving average of $290.83.

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The aerospace company reported $3.35 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.48 by ($0.13). The company had revenue of $11.67 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $11.65 billion. General Dynamics had a net margin of 7.90% and a return on equity of 16.59%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 10.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $3.04 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that General Dynamics will post 13.87 EPS for the current year.

General Dynamics Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 7th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 17th will be paid a dividend of $1.42 per share. This represents a $5.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.16%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 17th. General Dynamics’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 43.26%.

General Dynamics announced that its board has authorized a share buyback program on Wednesday, December 4th that permits the company to buyback 10,000,000 shares. This buyback authorization permits the aerospace company to repurchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are generally a sign that the company’s board of directors 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 business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $280.91, for a total value of $1,556,241.40. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 20,296 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,701,349.36. The trade was a 21.44 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 1.52% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings 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 worth $25,000 after buying an additional 58 shares during the last quarter. Hara Capital LLC bought a new position in General Dynamics during the third quarter worth $26,000. Lowe Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in General Dynamics during the 3rd quarter valued at $30,000. True Wealth Design LLC bought a new stake in General Dynamics in the 3rd quarter valued at $34,000. Finally, Meeder Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in General Dynamics by 385.2% in the 2nd quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 131 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 104 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 86.14% of the company’s stock.

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.