General Dynamics Corporation (NYSE:GD) Receives Consensus Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

General Dynamics Corporation (NYSE:GD) has received an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the twenty-one research firms that are covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, six have given a hold recommendation, twelve have given a buy recommendation and two have assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year target price among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $384.5263.

GD has been the subject of several recent research reports. Wells Fargo & Company began coverage on shares of General Dynamics in a research report on Wednesday, April 1st. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $400.00 price objective for the company. Citigroup cut their price target on General Dynamics from $389.00 to $380.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 1st. UBS Group set a $393.00 price target on General Dynamics in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Wolfe Research boosted their price target on General Dynamics from $400.00 to $415.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, January 12th. Finally, BNP Paribas Exane boosted their price target on General Dynamics from $410.00 to $430.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 7th.

General Dynamics Stock Down 2.0%

Shares of NYSE:GD opened at $325.63 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 1.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27. General Dynamics has a 52-week low of $262.84 and a 52-week high of $369.70. The company has a 50 day moving average of $348.94 and a two-hundred day moving average of $347.19. The company has a market capitalization of $88.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.08, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 0.38.

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 28th. The aerospace company reported $4.17 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.11 by $0.06. General Dynamics had a net margin of 8.01% and a return on equity of 17.57%. The company had revenue of $14.38 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $13.77 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $4.15 earnings per share. General Dynamics’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.8% on a year-over-year basis. General Dynamics has set its FY 2026 guidance at 16.100-16.200 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that General Dynamics will post 16.3 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

General Dynamics Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 8th. Investors of record on Friday, April 10th will be paid a $1.59 dividend. This represents a $6.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.0%. This is a positive change from General Dynamics’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.50. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 10th. General Dynamics’s payout ratio is presently 41.17%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Marguerite Amy Gilliland sold 3,819 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $353.50, for a total value of $1,350,016.50. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 44,767 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,825,134.50. The trade was a 7.86% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Mark Lagrand Burns sold 10,153 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $354.95, for a total value of $3,603,807.35. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 38,975 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,834,176.25. This trade represents a 20.67% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 51,260 shares of company stock worth $18,133,971. 1.40% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of General Dynamics

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Dunhill Financial LLC increased its holdings in General Dynamics by 620.0% in the third quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 72 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 62 shares during the last quarter. KERR FINANCIAL PLANNING Corp bought a new stake in General Dynamics in the third quarter valued at about $25,000. Dagco Inc. bought a new stake in General Dynamics in the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC bought a new stake in General Dynamics in the third quarter valued at about $26,000. Finally, Burkett Financial Services LLC increased its holdings in General Dynamics by 650.0% in the third quarter. Burkett Financial Services LLC now owns 75 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 65 shares during the last quarter. 86.14% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About General Dynamics

General Dynamics is a major American aerospace and defense contractor that designs, manufactures and supports a broad range of products and services for government and commercial customers worldwide. Headquartered in the United States (Reston, Virginia), the company supplies platforms and systems used by armed forces, civil authorities and private operators across multiple domains including air, land, sea and cyber.

Its principal activities span several operating businesses: a business aviation unit that develops and supports Gulfstream business jets; land systems that produce armored combat vehicles and related logistics and sustainment services; marine systems that design and construct submarines and surface ships for navies; and mission systems and information technology operations that provide command-and-control, communications, cybersecurity and systems-integration services.