Zacks Research Brokers Decrease Earnings Estimates for GD

General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD) – Stock analysts at Zacks Research dropped their Q1 2025 earnings per share estimates for shares of General Dynamics in a research note issued on Thursday, December 19th. Zacks Research analyst R. Department now forecasts that the aerospace company will post earnings of $3.37 per share for the quarter, down from their previous estimate of $3.47. The consensus estimate for General Dynamics’ current full-year earnings is $13.87 per share. Zacks Research also issued estimates for General Dynamics’ Q3 2025 earnings at $2.69 EPS, Q4 2025 earnings at $6.14 EPS and Q3 2026 earnings at $4.90 EPS.

Several other research firms have also weighed in on GD. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on General Dynamics from $322.00 to $295.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered General Dynamics from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and dropped their price target for the company from $283.00 to $245.00 in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of General Dynamics from $325.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 29th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their target price on shares of General Dynamics from $309.00 to $306.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Citigroup raised their price target 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. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $314.88.

General Dynamics Price Performance

Shares of NYSE GD opened at $265.90 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $73.11 billion, a PE ratio of 20.25, a P/E/G ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 0.60. The company has a quick ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 1.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. General Dynamics has a twelve month low of $247.36 and a twelve month high of $316.90. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $287.68 and a 200 day simple moving average of $292.25.

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 23rd. The aerospace company reported $3.35 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.48 by ($0.13). General Dynamics had a return on equity of 16.59% and a net margin of 7.90%. The company had revenue of $11.67 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $11.65 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $3.04 earnings per share. General Dynamics’s revenue was up 10.4% compared to the same quarter last year.

General Dynamics announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback plan on Wednesday, December 4th that authorizes the company to buyback 10,000,000 outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the aerospace company to purchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are typically an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

General Dynamics Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 7th. Investors of record on Friday, January 17th will be given a dividend of $1.42 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 17th. This represents a $5.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.14%. General Dynamics’s payout ratio is 43.26%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, VP Christopher J. Brady sold 5,540 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 sale, the vice president now directly owns 20,296 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,701,349.36. This trade represents a 21.44 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 1.60% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On General Dynamics

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its position in General Dynamics by 17.5% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 297,577 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $89,928,000 after purchasing an additional 44,387 shares during the period. FFG Partners LLC boosted its holdings in General Dynamics by 3.5% in the 3rd quarter. FFG Partners LLC now owns 19,875 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $6,006,000 after buying an additional 668 shares during the period. Retirement Systems of Alabama grew its stake in General Dynamics by 12.4% in the 3rd quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama now owns 56,384 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $17,039,000 after buying an additional 6,231 shares in the last quarter. American Trust raised its holdings in General Dynamics by 43.1% during the 3rd quarter. American Trust now owns 2,766 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $836,000 after acquiring an additional 833 shares during the period. Finally, Tidal Investments LLC lifted its position in shares of General Dynamics by 605.5% during the third quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 79,568 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $24,045,000 after acquiring an additional 68,290 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other 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.