Citigroup Issues Positive Forecast for General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) Stock Price

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD - Free Report) had its target price raised by Citigroup from $354.00 to $360.00 in a report released on Tuesday morning,Benzinga reports. They currently have a buy rating on the aerospace company's stock.

Several other brokerages have also recently commented on GD. Vertical Research cut General Dynamics from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and reduced their price target for the company from $352.00 to $290.00 in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Susquehanna lowered their target price on General Dynamics from $330.00 to $315.00 and set a "positive" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Barclays lowered their price objective on General Dynamics from $330.00 to $305.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their price objective on General Dynamics from $303.00 to $295.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 2nd. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein reduced their target price on General Dynamics from $343.00 to $331.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 24th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $304.88.

General Dynamics Trading Up 1.7 %

NYSE:GD traded up $4.63 on Tuesday, reaching $271.30. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,444,236 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,524,386. General Dynamics has a 1-year low of $247.88 and a 1-year high of $316.90. The business's 50-day moving average price is $271.92 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $288.09. The firm has a market cap of $74.60 billion, a PE ratio of 20.66, a PEG ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 0.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a current ratio of 1.32.

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

General Dynamics Announces Dividend

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 issued a dividend of $1.42 per share. This represents a $5.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.09%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 17th. General Dynamics's dividend payout ratio is currently 43.26%.

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

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 stock was sold at an average price of $280.91, for a total value of $1,556,241.40. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 20,296 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,701,349.36. This represents a 21.44 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 1.60% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On General Dynamics

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake 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 last quarter. Hara Capital LLC purchased a new stake in General Dynamics during the third quarter valued at about $26,000. Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in General Dynamics during the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. Lowe Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in General Dynamics during the third quarter valued at about $30,000. Finally, True Wealth Design LLC purchased a new stake in General Dynamics during the third quarter valued at about $34,000. 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.