General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD) Short Interest Update

General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD - Get Free Report) was the recipient of a significant increase in short interest during the month of August. As of August 15th, there was short interest totalling 1,910,000 shares, an increase of 6.1% from the July 31st total of 1,800,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 1,010,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 1.9 days. Currently, 0.7% of the shares of the company are short sold.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently commented on GD. Barclays upped their price target on shares of General Dynamics from $310.00 to $325.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 30th. Morgan Stanley raised General Dynamics from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $293.00 to $345.00 in a report on Friday, August 9th. BTIG Research began coverage on General Dynamics in a research note on Wednesday, June 26th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $345.00 price target for the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reissued a "hold" rating on shares of General Dynamics in a report on Monday, July 29th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $320.00 price target on shares of General Dynamics in a research note on Thursday, July 25th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $315.06.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On General Dynamics

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in General Dynamics during the 1st quarter worth approximately $25,000. MeadowBrook Investment Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of General Dynamics in the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Richardson Financial Services Inc. acquired a new stake in General Dynamics in the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. American Capital Advisory LLC bought a new position in General Dynamics during the 2nd quarter worth $29,000. Finally, Financial Synergies Wealth Advisors Inc. bought a new position in General Dynamics during the 1st quarter worth $29,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.14% of the company's stock.

General Dynamics Price Performance

Shares of GD stock traded up $1.53 on Monday, hitting $299.36. 1,033,000 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,060,318. The company has a 50 day moving average of $290.66 and a 200 day moving average of $288.39. The stock has a market cap of $82.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.64 and a beta of 0.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a current ratio of 1.33 and a quick ratio of 0.80. General Dynamics has a 12 month low of $214.53 and a 12 month high of $302.75.

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 24th. The aerospace company reported $3.26 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $3.30 by ($0.04). The company had revenue of $11.98 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $11.46 billion. General Dynamics had a net margin of 7.89% and a return on equity of 16.74%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 18.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $2.70 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts predict that General Dynamics will post 14.52 EPS for the current year.

General Dynamics Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 11th will be issued a dividend of $1.42 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 11th. This represents a $5.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.90%. General Dynamics's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 46.33%.

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.

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