William Blair Boosts Earnings Estimates for General Dynamics

General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD - Free Report) - Equities research analysts at William Blair raised their Q4 2024 earnings estimates for shares of General Dynamics in a research note issued on Wednesday, October 23rd. William Blair analyst L. Dipalma now forecasts that the aerospace company will post earnings of $4.51 per share for the quarter, up from their previous estimate of $4.30. The consensus estimate for General Dynamics' current full-year earnings is $14.27 per share. William Blair also issued estimates for General Dynamics' FY2025 earnings at $16.58 EPS.

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD - Get Free Report) last issued its 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 7.89% and a return on equity of 16.74%. The firm had revenue of $11.67 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $11.65 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $3.04 EPS. General Dynamics's quarterly revenue was up 10.4% on a year-over-year basis.

Several other equities research analysts have also commented on GD. Sanford C. Bernstein lowered their price target on shares of General Dynamics from $343.00 to $331.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday. TD Cowen upgraded General Dynamics to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. Seaport Res Ptn cut General Dynamics from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, October 11th. Barclays upped their price objective on General Dynamics from $310.00 to $325.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 30th. Finally, Robert W. Baird reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $345.00 price objective on shares of General Dynamics in a research note on Tuesday, July 2nd. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $323.88.

General Dynamics Stock Performance

Shares of GD stock traded up $1.40 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $303.92. The company's stock had a trading volume of 914,419 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,094,847. The company has a current ratio of 1.33, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. The company has a 50 day moving average of $300.40 and a 200 day moving average of $294.74. General Dynamics has a 12-month low of $237.35 and a 12-month high of $313.11. The stock has a market cap of $83.51 billion, a PE ratio of 23.60, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 0.61.

General Dynamics Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 11th will be given a $1.42 dividend. This represents a $5.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.87%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 11th. General Dynamics's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 44.31%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other General Dynamics news, Director Peter A. Wall sold 1,320 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, September 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $308.05, for a total transaction of $406,626.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 3,592 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,106,515.60. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 1.52% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On General Dynamics

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in GD. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its stake in shares of General Dynamics by 4.0% in the 2nd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 7,639,758 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $2,216,599,000 after acquiring an additional 293,316 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its position in General Dynamics by 2.5% in the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 4,782,612 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $1,351,041,000 after purchasing an additional 115,063 shares during the period. Ameriprise Financial Inc. lifted its stake in General Dynamics by 2.4% during the second quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 2,071,803 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $601,756,000 after purchasing an additional 47,915 shares in the last quarter. Boston Partners boosted its position in shares of General Dynamics by 1.4% during the first quarter. Boston Partners now owns 1,680,666 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $474,927,000 after buying an additional 23,262 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its stake in shares of General Dynamics by 1.5% in the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,606,289 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $466,049,000 after buying an additional 23,304 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.