JPMorgan Chase & Co. Increases General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) Price Target to $298.00

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) had its price target upped by JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $280.00 to $298.00 in a report issued on Thursday, Benzinga reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. currently has an overweight rating on the aerospace company’s stock.

A number of other research analysts have also issued reports on GD. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on shares of General Dynamics from $253.00 to $284.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a report on Tuesday, April 16th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of General Dynamics from $291.00 to $322.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a report on Thursday, April 4th. Barclays raised their price target on shares of General Dynamics from $285.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a report on Monday, April 15th. Citigroup raised their price target on shares of General Dynamics from $283.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a report on Thursday, January 25th. Finally, Alembic Global Advisors lowered shares of General Dynamics from an overweight rating to a neutral rating and set a $296.00 price target for the company. in a report on Monday, January 29th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $293.43.

General Dynamics Stock Down 0.2 %

Shares of NYSE GD opened at $284.41 on Thursday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $280.86 and a 200 day simple moving average of $262.05. The firm has a market cap of $78.03 billion, a PE ratio of 23.20, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 0.68. General Dynamics has a 1 year low of $202.35 and a 1 year high of $296.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41, a current ratio of 1.44 and a quick ratio of 0.92.

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 24th. The aerospace company reported $2.88 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.89 by ($0.01). The business had revenue of $10.73 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.26 billion. General Dynamics had a net margin of 7.85% and a return on equity of 16.48%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 8.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $2.64 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that General Dynamics will post 14.57 EPS for the current year.

General Dynamics Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 12th will be issued a dividend of $1.42 per share. This represents a $5.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.00%. This is an increase from General Dynamics’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.32. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 11th. General Dynamics’s payout ratio is currently 46.33%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On General Dynamics

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of GD. MeadowBrook Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new position in General Dynamics during the 4th quarter worth $25,000. Richardson Financial Services Inc. purchased a new position in shares of General Dynamics in the 4th quarter worth about $25,000. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of General Dynamics in the 1st quarter worth about $25,000. Briaud Financial Planning Inc purchased a new position in shares of General Dynamics in the 3rd quarter worth about $27,000. Finally, Impact Partnership Wealth LLC boosted its holdings in shares of General Dynamics by 411.5% in the 3rd quarter. Impact Partnership Wealth LLC now owns 133 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 107 shares during the last quarter. 86.14% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.