General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) Stock Rating Lowered by William Blair

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) was downgraded by stock analysts at William Blair from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note issued on Friday,Finviz reports.

A number of other research analysts also recently weighed in on the company. Sanford C. Bernstein cut their price objective on General Dynamics from $343.00 to $331.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Barclays dropped their price target on shares of General Dynamics from $305.00 to $285.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Robert W. Baird reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $283.00 price objective (down from $345.00) on shares of General Dynamics in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. UBS Group dropped their target price on shares of General Dynamics from $337.00 to $281.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their price target on General Dynamics from $303.00 to $295.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 2nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, General Dynamics has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $298.59.

General Dynamics Stock Performance

GD stock opened at $246.25 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $260.08 and a two-hundred day moving average of $282.84. General Dynamics has a 12 month low of $239.87 and a 12 month high of $316.90. The company has a market capitalization of $66.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.05, a P/E/G ratio of 1.68 and a beta of 0.61. The company has a quick ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 1.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33.

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The aerospace company reported $4.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.29 by ($0.14). General Dynamics had a return on equity of 17.10% and a net margin of 7.93%. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that General Dynamics will post 14.83 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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

Insider Transactions at General Dynamics

In related news, Director Laura J. Schumacher sold 1,796 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $255.68, for a total transaction of $459,201.28. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 11,175 shares in the company, valued at $2,857,224. This trade represents a 13.85 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 1.52% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Financial Life Planners acquired a new stake in shares of General Dynamics in the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Hara Capital LLC bought a new position in General Dynamics during the 3rd quarter valued at about $26,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC acquired a new position in General Dynamics in the fourth quarter valued at about $26,000. Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC bought a new stake in General Dynamics during the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Finally, Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of General Dynamics during the fourth quarter worth approximately $28,000. 86.14% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.