William Blair Forecasts Higher Earnings for General Dynamics

General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD - Free Report) - Equities research analysts at William Blair lifted their FY2025 earnings estimates for General Dynamics in a research note issued on Wednesday, April 23rd. William Blair analyst L. Dipalma now forecasts that the aerospace company will earn $14.91 per share for the year, up from their previous forecast of $14.78. William Blair currently has a "Market Perform" rating on the stock. The consensus estimate for General Dynamics' current full-year earnings is $14.83 per share.

A number of other equities research analysts have also weighed in on the company. Vertical Research cut General Dynamics from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and lowered their target price for the stock from $352.00 to $290.00 in a report on Monday, January 6th. BTIG Research downgraded General Dynamics from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Robert W. Baird reissued a "neutral" rating and issued a $283.00 price objective (down from $345.00) on shares of General Dynamics in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Baird R W lowered shares of General Dynamics from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price target on shares of General Dynamics from $245.00 to $241.00 and set a "sell" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have issued a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $293.83.

General Dynamics Trading Up 0.2 %

Shares of General Dynamics stock opened at $272.30 on Monday. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $264.21 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $271.77. The company has a market capitalization of $73.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.96, a PEG ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 0.43. The company has a quick ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 1.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. General Dynamics has a 12-month low of $239.20 and a 12-month high of $316.90.

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 23rd. The aerospace company reported $3.66 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $3.43 by $0.23. General Dynamics had a return on equity of 17.10% and a net margin of 7.93%. The company had revenue of $12.22 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $11.92 billion.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Barclays PLC grew its stake in General Dynamics by 43.1% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 942,485 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $284,818,000 after purchasing an additional 283,972 shares during the period. Tudor Financial Inc. bought a new stake in shares of General Dynamics during the third quarter valued at approximately $393,000. Pine Valley Investments Ltd Liability Co raised its holdings in General Dynamics by 4.0% in the 3rd quarter. Pine Valley Investments Ltd Liability Co now owns 9,078 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $2,743,000 after acquiring an additional 352 shares during the last quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC bought a new position in General Dynamics in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $3,892,000. Finally, Arvest Bank Trust Division purchased a new stake in General Dynamics during the 3rd quarter valued at $20,667,000. 86.14% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other General Dynamics news, Director Laura J. Schumacher sold 1,796 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $255.68, for a total transaction of $459,201.28. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 11,175 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,857,224. This represents a 13.85 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, SVP Marguerite Amy Gilliland sold 27,562 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $272.11, for a total value of $7,499,895.82. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 45,192 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $12,297,195.12. This trade represents a 37.88 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 1.50% of the company's stock.

General Dynamics Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 11th will be given a dividend of $1.50 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 11th. This is a positive change from General Dynamics's previous quarterly dividend of $1.42. This represents a $6.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.20%. General Dynamics's payout ratio is presently 41.61%.

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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