General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) Announces Earnings Results

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday. The aerospace company reported $4.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.29 by ($0.14), Zacks reports. General Dynamics had a return on equity of 16.59% and a net margin of 7.90%.

General Dynamics Trading Down 1.1 %

Shares of GD stock opened at $259.73 on Wednesday. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $268.57 and a 200 day simple moving average of $287.48. General Dynamics has a 1 year low of $247.01 and a 1 year high of $316.90. The company has a current ratio of 1.32, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. The stock has a market cap of $71.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 0.61.

General Dynamics Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 7th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 17th will be given a dividend of $1.42 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 17th. This represents a $5.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.19%. General Dynamics’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 43.26%.

General Dynamics declared that its Board of Directors has approved 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 purchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are typically a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently weighed in on GD shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased 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. Robert W. Baird reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $283.00 price target (down previously from $345.00) on shares of General Dynamics in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. UBS Group dropped their price objective on shares of General Dynamics from $337.00 to $281.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday. Royal Bank of Canada lowered General Dynamics from an “outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating and lowered their price objective for the stock from $330.00 to $290.00 in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “hold” rating and set a $300.00 price target (down previously from $345.00) on shares of General Dynamics in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $303.28.

Insider Buying and Selling at General Dynamics

In other news, VP Christopher J. Brady sold 5,540 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $280.91, for a total value of $1,556,241.40. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 20,296 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,701,349.36. This trade represents a 21.44 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 1.52% of the company’s stock.

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.