General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD) Receives Consensus Rating of "Hold" from Brokerages

Shares of General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD - Get Free Report) have earned a consensus recommendation of "Hold" from the twenty-one research firms that are covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. The average 12-month target price among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $304.53.

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group cut shares of General Dynamics from a "neutral" rating to a "sell" rating and reduced their price target for the stock from $283.00 to $245.00 in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Vertical Research downgraded shares of General Dynamics from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and reduced their price target for the stock from $352.00 to $290.00 in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Baird R W lowered shares of General Dynamics from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Barclays dropped their price target on General Dynamics from $330.00 to $305.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada downgraded General Dynamics from an "outperform" rating to a "sector perform" rating and lowered their price objective for the stock from $330.00 to $290.00 in a research note on Thursday, December 19th.

General Dynamics Stock Down 0.7 %

Shares of General Dynamics stock traded down $1.97 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $266.86. 1,543,957 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,419,689. The company has a market cap of $73.38 billion, a PE ratio of 20.32, a PEG ratio of 1.38 and a beta of 0.61. General Dynamics has a twelve month low of $247.36 and a twelve month high of $316.90. The company has a quick ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 1.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $272.86 and a 200-day simple moving average of $288.21.

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The aerospace company reported $3.35 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $3.48 by ($0.13). General Dynamics had a net margin of 7.90% and a return on equity of 16.59%. The business had revenue of $11.67 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $11.65 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $3.04 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 10.4% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts anticipate that General Dynamics will post 13.81 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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

General Dynamics Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 7th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 17th will be issued a $1.42 dividend. This represents a $5.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.13%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 17th. General Dynamics's payout ratio is 43.26%.

Insider Buying and Selling

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 transaction of $1,556,241.40. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 20,296 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,701,349.36. The trade was a 21.44 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 1.60% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On General Dynamics

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in GD. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its position in shares of General Dynamics by 0.8% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 14,205,330 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $4,292,851,000 after purchasing an additional 109,618 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its position in General Dynamics by 9.4% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 10,945,110 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $3,307,612,000 after purchasing an additional 943,247 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its stake in General Dynamics by 2.5% in the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 7,829,662 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $2,366,124,000 after purchasing an additional 189,904 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in General Dynamics by 13.0% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 5,557,404 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $1,674,998,000 after purchasing an additional 638,342 shares during the last quarter. Finally, FMR LLC raised its stake in shares of General Dynamics by 0.5% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 4,940,537 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $1,493,030,000 after purchasing an additional 24,464 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.14% of the company's stock.

General Dynamics Company Profile

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.