General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) Receives Neutral Rating from Robert W. Baird

Robert W. Baird reaffirmed their neutral rating on shares of General Dynamics (NYSE:GD - Free Report) in a research report sent to investors on Tuesday, Marketbeat.com reports. Robert W. Baird currently has a $283.00 target price on the aerospace company's stock, down from their prior target price of $345.00.

Several other research firms have also issued reports on GD. Wolfe Research lowered shares of General Dynamics from an "outperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. Royal Bank of Canada lowered General Dynamics from an "outperform" rating to a "sector perform" rating and cut their target price for the stock from $330.00 to $290.00 in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Barclays decreased their price target on General Dynamics from $330.00 to $305.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Jefferies Financial Group restated a "hold" rating and set a $300.00 price objective (down previously from $345.00) on shares of General Dynamics in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein dropped their target price on shares of General Dynamics from $343.00 to $331.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $304.53.

General Dynamics Stock Performance

Shares of GD stock traded up $1.25 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $264.92. The stock had a trading volume of 1,095,805 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,442,186. 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 50-day simple moving average of $275.30 and a 200-day simple moving average of $288.61. The firm has a market capitalization of $72.84 billion, a PE ratio of 20.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 0.61. General Dynamics has a twelve month low of $247.36 and a twelve month high of $316.90.

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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 net margin of 7.90% and a return on equity of 16.59%. The business had revenue of $11.67 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $11.65 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $3.04 earnings per share. General Dynamics's revenue for the quarter was up 10.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts forecast that General Dynamics will post 13.84 earnings per share for the current year.

General Dynamics Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed 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. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 17th. This represents a $5.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.14%. General Dynamics's dividend payout ratio is currently 43.26%.

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other General Dynamics news, VP Christopher J. Brady sold 5,540 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 22nd. The shares were 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 of the company's stock, valued at $5,701,349.36. This represents a 21.44 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 1.52% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of General Dynamics

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

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.