General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) Hits New 12-Month Low After Earnings Miss

General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD - Get Free Report) shares hit a new 52-week low during trading on Wednesday following a dissappointing earnings announcement. The stock traded as low as $247.01 and last traded at $255.73, with a volume of 645433 shares. The stock had previously closed at $262.57.

The aerospace company reported $4.15 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $4.29 by ($0.14). General Dynamics had a net margin of 7.90% and a return on equity of 16.59%.

General Dynamics Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 7th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 17th will be given a dividend of $1.42 per share. This represents a $5.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.21%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 17th. General Dynamics's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 43.26%.

General Dynamics announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase program on Wednesday, December 4th that authorizes the company to buyback 10,000,000 shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the aerospace company to buy shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often an indication that the company's leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on GD. Wolfe Research cut General Dynamics from an "outperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Royal Bank of Canada cut their target price on General Dynamics from $290.00 to $280.00 and set a "sector perform" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday. Baird R W cut General Dynamics from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. UBS Group cut their target price on General Dynamics from $337.00 to $281.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday. Finally, Citigroup raised their price objective on General Dynamics from $354.00 to $360.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, General Dynamics presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $301.24.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, VP Christopher J. Brady sold 5,540 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the vice president now directly owns 20,296 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,701,349.36. The trade was a 21.44 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 1.52% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in General Dynamics by 241.7% in the third quarter. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 82 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 58 shares during the period. Financial Life Planners bought a new position in General Dynamics in the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. Hara Capital LLC bought a new position in General Dynamics in the third quarter valued at about $26,000. Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC bought a new position in General Dynamics in the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. Finally, Heck Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in General Dynamics in the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. 86.14% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

General Dynamics Stock Performance

The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $268.00 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $287.23. 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 company has a market cap of $70.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.57, a P/E/G ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 0.61.

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.