General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD) Receives Average Rating of “Hold” from Brokerages

Shares of General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD) have received an average rating of “Hold” from the twenty brokerages that are covering the company, MarketBeat reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average 12 month price objective among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $298.59.

A number of brokerages have weighed in on GD. Robert W. Baird reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $283.00 price target (down previously from $345.00) on shares of General Dynamics in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Susquehanna reduced their price objective on shares of General Dynamics from $315.00 to $300.00 and set a “positive” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price target on General Dynamics from $245.00 to $241.00 and set a “sell” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Citigroup dropped their target price on shares of General Dynamics from $360.00 to $335.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “hold” rating and issued a $300.00 price objective (down previously from $345.00) on shares of General Dynamics in a research report on Thursday, December 12th.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Laura J. Schumacher sold 1,796 shares of the business’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 value of $459,201.28. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 11,175 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,857,224. The trade was a 13.85 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 1.52% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of General Dynamics by 40,389.3% during the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 1,379,472 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $416,876,000 after acquiring an additional 1,376,065 shares during the period. Castlekeep Investment Advisors LLC bought a new position in General Dynamics during the 4th quarter worth about $279,582,000. State Street Corp raised its stake in shares of 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 period. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in shares of General Dynamics in the fourth quarter valued at about $197,238,000. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of General Dynamics by 3.1% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 23,780,078 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $6,265,813,000 after buying an additional 706,317 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 86.14% of the company’s stock.

General Dynamics Trading Up 0.8 %

NYSE:GD opened at $246.25 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 1.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. The firm has a market capitalization of $66.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.05, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.67 and a beta of 0.61. General Dynamics has a 1-year low of $239.87 and a 1-year high of $316.90. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $260.08 and a 200 day simple moving average of $282.84.

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The aerospace company reported $4.15 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.29 by ($0.14). General Dynamics had a net margin of 7.93% and a return on equity of 17.10%. Sell-side analysts forecast that General Dynamics will post 14.83 earnings per share for the current year.

General Dynamics declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase program on Wednesday, December 4th that permits the company to buyback 10,000,000 outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the aerospace company to repurchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are usually an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

General Dynamics Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 7th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 17th were paid a $1.42 dividend. This represents a $5.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.31%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 17th. General Dynamics’s payout ratio is presently 41.64%.

About General Dynamics

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.