General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD) Receives Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Brokerages

Shares of General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD) have received an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the six ratings firms that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. The average 12-month price target among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $262.38.

GD has been the topic of a number of research reports. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of General Dynamics from $244.00 to $258.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, July 28th. StockNews.com assumed coverage on shares of General Dynamics in a research report on Thursday, August 17th. They issued a “buy” rating on the stock. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of General Dynamics from $248.00 to $250.00 in a research report on Thursday, July 27th.

Insider Buying and Selling at General Dynamics

In other General Dynamics news, VP Gregory S. Gallopoulos sold 6,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $225.83, for a total value of $1,467,895.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 113,319 shares in the company, valued at $25,590,829.77. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, SVP Marguerite Amy Gilliland sold 13,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $225.46, for a total value of $3,043,710.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 44,157 shares in the company, valued at $9,955,637.22. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, VP Gregory S. Gallopoulos sold 6,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $225.83, for a total transaction of $1,467,895.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 113,319 shares in the company, valued at $25,590,829.77. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 53,230 shares of company stock worth $12,086,716 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 1.52% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On General Dynamics

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. National Pension Service grew its stake in shares of General Dynamics by 1.8% in the fourth quarter. National Pension Service now owns 386,851 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $95,982,000 after acquiring an additional 6,880 shares in the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC bought a new stake in General Dynamics during the first quarter worth about $708,000. Accurate Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in General Dynamics by 7.8% during the first quarter. Accurate Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,052 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $470,000 after purchasing an additional 149 shares during the period. Financial Counselors Inc. lifted its position in General Dynamics by 4.9% during the first quarter. Financial Counselors Inc. now owns 1,943 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $443,000 after purchasing an additional 91 shares during the period. Finally, Hills Bank & Trust Co lifted its position in General Dynamics by 10.7% during the first quarter. Hills Bank & Trust Co now owns 6,513 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $1,486,000 after purchasing an additional 631 shares during the period. 86.08% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

General Dynamics Stock Performance

Shares of GD opened at $218.69 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a current ratio of 1.39. General Dynamics has a twelve month low of $202.35 and a twelve month high of $256.86. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $221.24 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $219.81. The firm has a market cap of $59.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.95, a PEG ratio of 1.99 and a beta of 0.84.

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 26th. The aerospace company reported $2.70 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.59 by $0.11. The business had revenue of $10.15 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.45 billion. General Dynamics had a net margin of 8.24% and a return on equity of 18.01%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.75 earnings per share. On average, analysts forecast that General Dynamics will post 12.64 EPS for the current fiscal year.

General Dynamics Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 6th will be issued a $1.32 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 5th. This represents a $5.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.41%. General Dynamics’s dividend payout ratio is currently 43.35%.

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.