Wells Fargo & Company Cuts General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) Price Target to $295.00

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) had its price objective dropped by stock analysts at Wells Fargo & Company from $322.00 to $295.00 in a report released on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has an “equal weight” rating on the aerospace company’s stock. Wells Fargo & Company‘s price objective indicates a potential upside of 12.15% from the company’s previous close.

A number of other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports on GD. Susquehanna boosted their price objective on General Dynamics from $333.00 to $352.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. TD Cowen upgraded shares of General Dynamics to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their price target on shares of General Dynamics from $309.00 to $306.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Wolfe Research downgraded shares of General Dynamics from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein dropped their price target on shares of General Dynamics from $343.00 to $331.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $317.38.

General Dynamics Price Performance

Shares of NYSE GD opened at $263.04 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $72.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.07, a PEG ratio of 1.67 and a beta of 0.59. The business has a 50-day moving average of $293.31 and a 200-day moving average of $294.20. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 1.32 and a quick ratio of 0.80. General Dynamics has a fifty-two week low of $247.36 and a fifty-two week high of $316.90.

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) last posted its quarterly 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 return on equity of 16.59% and a net margin of 7.90%. The business had revenue of $11.67 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $11.65 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $3.04 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that General Dynamics will post 13.87 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

General Dynamics declared that its board has initiated a stock buyback plan on Wednesday, December 4th that allows the company to buyback 10,000,000 shares. This buyback authorization allows the aerospace company to reacquire shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are typically a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Activity

In other news, VP Christopher J. Brady sold 5,540 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, November 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $280.91, for a total transaction of $1,556,241.40. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 20,296 shares in the company, valued at $5,701,349.36. This represents a 21.44 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Peter A. Wall sold 1,320 shares of the 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 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 1.52% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On General Dynamics

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in General Dynamics by 241.7% in the third quarter. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 82 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 58 shares during the period. Hara Capital LLC acquired a new stake in General Dynamics in the third quarter worth $26,000. American Capital Advisory LLC acquired a new stake in General Dynamics in the second quarter worth $29,000. Lowe Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in General Dynamics in the third quarter worth $30,000. Finally, Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in General Dynamics by 120.0% in the second quarter. Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC now owns 110 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 60 shares during the period. 86.14% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.