General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) Announces Earnings Results

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD - Get Free Report) announced its earnings results on Wednesday. The aerospace company reported $4.15 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.29 by ($0.14), Zacks reports. General Dynamics had a net margin of 7.90% and a return on equity of 16.59%. General Dynamics updated its FY 2025 guidance to 14.750-14.850 EPS.

General Dynamics Stock Performance

NYSE:GD traded up $5.48 on Thursday, reaching $256.93. 2,212,013 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,764,526. The firm has a market cap of $70.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.57, a P/E/G ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 0.61. 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 stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $268.00 and a 200-day simple moving average of $287.23. General Dynamics has a 52 week low of $247.01 and a 52 week high of $316.90.

General Dynamics Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 7th. Stockholders 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 dividend yield of 2.21%. General Dynamics's payout ratio is 43.26%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have weighed in on GD. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a "hold" rating and issued a $300.00 target price (down from $345.00) on shares of General Dynamics in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their price objective on shares of General Dynamics from $303.00 to $295.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 2nd. Citigroup upped their target price on General Dynamics from $354.00 to $360.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. UBS Group reduced their price target on shares of General Dynamics from $337.00 to $281.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, Barclays lowered their price objective on shares of General Dynamics from $330.00 to $305.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 6th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, General Dynamics presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $301.24.

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

Insider Activity at General Dynamics

In related news, VP Christopher J. Brady sold 5,540 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 approximately $5,701,349.36. This represents a 21.44 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 1.52% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.