General Dynamics Corporation (NYSE:GD) Stock Rated “Moderate Buy” by Wall Street Brokerages

Shares of General Dynamics Corporation (NYSE:GD) have been assigned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the seventeen brokerages that are covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, five have assigned a hold recommendation and eleven have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year price objective among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $408.94.

Several research firms have issued reports on GD. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reiterated a “hold” rating and issued a $384.00 target price on shares of General Dynamics in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Jefferies Financial Group restated a “buy” rating and set a $455.00 price target on shares of General Dynamics in a research report on Monday. Robert W. Baird set a $430.00 price target on shares of General Dynamics in a report on Thursday, July 30th. BNP Paribas Exane increased their price objective on General Dynamics from $390.00 to $430.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on General Dynamics from $465.00 to $480.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other General Dynamics news, Director Robert K. Steel sold 7,440 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $346.05, for a total value of $2,574,612.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 3,096 shares in the company, valued at $1,071,370.80. This represents a 70.62% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 1.40% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Whipplewood Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of General Dynamics by 1,725.0% in the 1st quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC now owns 73 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 69 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Altus USA Inc. raised its holdings in shares of General Dynamics by 77.8% during the second quarter. Wellington Altus USA Inc. now owns 80 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 35 shares in the last quarter. Downshift Financial LLC lifted its stake in General Dynamics by 134.3% in the third quarter. Downshift Financial LLC now owns 82 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 47 shares during the period. Morton Brown Family Wealth LLC boosted its holdings in General Dynamics by 182.8% in the third quarter. Morton Brown Family Wealth LLC now owns 82 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 53 shares in the last quarter. Finally, John Boyer Inc. bought a new stake in General Dynamics in the third quarter valued at $28,000. 86.14% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

General Dynamics Trading Down 2.2%

Shares of General Dynamics stock opened at $356.85 on Friday. General Dynamics has a 12-month low of $306.77 and a 12-month high of $400.00. The company has a market cap of $96.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.99, a PEG ratio of 2.06 and a beta of 0.30. The company has a current ratio of 1.43, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $350.29 and its 200-day moving average price is $355.08.

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, October 30th. The aerospace company reported $4.49 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.12 by $0.37. The company had revenue of $14.57 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $13.72 billion. General Dynamics had a net margin of 8.24% and a return on equity of 17.60%. General Dynamics’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $3.88 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts expect that General Dynamics will post 17.29 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

General Dynamics Company Profile

General Dynamics Corporation (NYSE: GD) is a global aerospace and defense company that develops, manufactures and supports products and services for government and commercial customers. Its operations serve the U.S. government, allied nations and other customers worldwide, with a significant focus on national security, military modernization and mission support.

The company operates through four primary business areas. Aerospace provides Gulfstream business jets and related aircraft services through Gulfstream Aerospace, as well as aircraft management, charter, maintenance and completions services through Jet Aviation.