Short Interest in General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD) Increases By 14.5%

General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD - Get Free Report) was the target of a significant growth in short interest in October. As of October 31st, there was short interest totalling 3,080,000 shares, a growth of 14.5% from the October 15th total of 2,690,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 1,150,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 2.7 days. Approximately 1.1% of the shares of the stock are short sold.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

GD has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of General Dynamics from $325.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 29th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their price target on shares of General Dynamics from $309.00 to $306.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 1st. TD Cowen upgraded General Dynamics to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. Susquehanna raised their target price on General Dynamics from $333.00 to $352.00 and gave the stock a "positive" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on General Dynamics from $317.00 to $322.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Seven equities research 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's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, General Dynamics presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $323.69.

General Dynamics Stock Down 0.7 %

Shares of GD traded down $1.99 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $286.00. The company had a trading volume of 1,286,492 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,101,693. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $302.45 and its 200-day simple moving average is $296.34. 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 has a 1 year low of $243.87 and a 1 year high of $316.90. The firm has a market capitalization of $78.64 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.76, a P/E/G ratio of 1.74 and a beta of 0.61.

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The aerospace company reported $3.35 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.48 by ($0.13). The firm had revenue of $11.67 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $11.65 billion. General Dynamics had a return on equity of 16.59% and a net margin of 7.90%. The company's revenue was up 10.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $3.04 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that General Dynamics will post 13.98 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Peter A. Wall sold 1,320 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $308.05, for a total value of $406,626.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 3,592 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,106,515.60. This trade represents a 26.87 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Company insiders own 1.52% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of General Dynamics

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of GD. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its position in General Dynamics by 0.8% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 14,205,330 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $4,292,851,000 after acquiring an additional 109,618 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its position in General Dynamics by 9.4% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 10,945,110 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $3,307,612,000 after purchasing an additional 943,247 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its stake in General Dynamics by 2.5% during the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 7,829,662 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $2,366,124,000 after purchasing an additional 189,904 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in General Dynamics by 13.0% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 5,557,404 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $1,674,998,000 after purchasing an additional 638,342 shares during the last quarter. Finally, FMR LLC increased its stake in General Dynamics by 0.5% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 4,940,537 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $1,493,030,000 after purchasing an additional 24,464 shares during the period. 86.14% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.