Susquehanna Issues Positive Forecast for General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) Stock Price

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) had its price objective lifted by Susquehanna from $300.00 to $315.00 in a research report released on Wednesday morning,Benzinga reports. They currently have a positive rating on the aerospace company’s stock.

GD has been the subject of several other research reports. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their target price on General Dynamics from $290.00 to $280.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Vertical Research cut shares of General Dynamics from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lowered their target price for the company from $352.00 to $290.00 in a report on Monday, January 6th. 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 research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their price objective on General Dynamics from $303.00 to $295.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 2nd. Finally, Citigroup reduced their target price on General Dynamics from $360.00 to $335.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, February 10th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, General Dynamics presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $298.59.

General Dynamics Stock Up 0.7 %

Shares of General Dynamics stock opened at $276.14 on Wednesday. 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 52-week low of $239.87 and a 52-week high of $316.90. The company has a market capitalization of $74.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.24, a P/E/G ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 0.59. The company has a 50 day moving average of $259.05 and a 200 day moving average of $276.19.

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The aerospace company reported $4.15 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.29 by ($0.14). General Dynamics had a return on equity of 17.10% and a net margin of 7.93%. As a group, research analysts forecast that General Dynamics will post 14.83 EPS for the current fiscal year.

General Dynamics declared that its board has initiated a stock buyback program on Wednesday, December 4th that allows the company to buyback 10,000,000 outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the aerospace company to reacquire shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are generally a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

General Dynamics Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Investors of record on Friday, April 11th will be issued a dividend of $1.50 per share. This is a boost from General Dynamics’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.42. This represents a $6.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.17%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 11th. General Dynamics’s dividend payout ratio is currently 43.99%.

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 dated Friday, January 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $255.68, for a total transaction of $459,201.28. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 11,175 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,857,224. This represents a 13.85 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, SVP Marguerite Amy Gilliland sold 27,562 shares of General Dynamics stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $272.11, for a total transaction of $7,499,895.82. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 45,192 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $12,297,195.12. The trade was a 37.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.52% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On General Dynamics

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of GD. Financial Life Planners acquired a new stake in General Dynamics in the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in General Dynamics in the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC purchased a new position in General Dynamics during the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. Copia Wealth Management acquired a new position in General Dynamics during the fourth quarter worth about $27,000. Finally, Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of General Dynamics in the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. 86.14% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.