Short Interest in General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD) Expands By 21.5%

General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD - Get Free Report) saw a large increase in short interest in the month of August. As of August 31st, there was short interest totalling 2,320,000 shares, an increase of 21.5% from the August 15th total of 1,910,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 1,090,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.1 days. Approximately 0.9% of the company's shares are short sold.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On General Dynamics

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. American Trust acquired a new stake in shares of General Dynamics in the 2nd quarter worth $561,000. Cim LLC purchased a new position in General Dynamics during the 2nd quarter valued at about $2,052,000. Sanctuary Advisors LLC purchased a new position in General Dynamics during the 2nd quarter valued at about $24,147,000. Farmers National Bank boosted its stake in shares of General Dynamics by 0.9% in the 2nd quarter. Farmers National Bank now owns 10,182 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $2,954,000 after buying an additional 92 shares during the period. Finally, Dana Investment Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of General Dynamics in the 2nd quarter valued at about $4,697,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.14% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the stock. BTIG Research began coverage on shares of General Dynamics in a research note on Wednesday, June 26th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $345.00 price target on the stock. Robert W. Baird restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $345.00 price target on shares of General Dynamics in a research note on Tuesday, July 2nd. Sanford C. Bernstein raised their price target on General Dynamics from $290.00 to $302.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 23rd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reiterated a "hold" rating on shares of General Dynamics in a research report on Monday, July 29th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised General Dynamics from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and lifted their price target for the company from $293.00 to $345.00 in a research note on Friday, August 9th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, General Dynamics has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $315.06.

General Dynamics Trading Up 1.4 %

GD stock traded up $4.13 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $304.80. The company had a trading volume of 797,557 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,065,587. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a current ratio of 1.33 and a quick ratio of 0.80. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $292.48 and a 200 day moving average of $290.09. The company has a market capitalization of $83.63 billion, a PE ratio of 24.86, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.64 and a beta of 0.61. General Dynamics has a 12 month low of $214.53 and a 12 month high of $306.51.

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

General Dynamics Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 11th will be paid a dividend of $1.42 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 11th. This represents a $5.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.86%. General Dynamics's payout ratio is 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.