General Dynamics’ (GD) “Buy” Rating Reaffirmed at Citigroup

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD)‘s stock had its “buy” rating reissued by equities researchers at Citigroup in a report issued on Monday, Marketbeat reports. They currently have a $348.00 price target on the aerospace company’s stock, up from their prior price target of $330.00. Citigroup’s price target points to a potential upside of 15.44% from the company’s current price.

A number of other research firms have also issued reports on GD. Argus set a $295.00 price objective on General Dynamics in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded General Dynamics from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $298.00 to $342.00 in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. Susquehanna upped their target price on General Dynamics from $300.00 to $315.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 2nd. TD Cowen upped their target price on General Dynamics from $290.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 25th. Finally, TD Securities upped their target price on General Dynamics from $275.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have issued a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $294.53.

General Dynamics Stock Performance

GD stock traded down $3.40 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $301.45. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,146,849 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,398,876. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $282.14 and its 200 day moving average price is $269.61. The company has a quick ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 1.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. General Dynamics has a 1 year low of $239.20 and a 1 year high of $316.90. The stock has a market cap of $80.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.90, a PEG ratio of 2.01 and a beta of 0.46.

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The aerospace company reported $3.66 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.43 by $0.23. General Dynamics had a return on equity of 17.82% and a net margin of 8.08%. The firm had revenue of $12.22 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $11.92 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.88 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 13.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts forecast that General Dynamics will post 14.83 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Phebe N. Novakovic sold 178,821 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, June 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $283.13, for a total value of $50,629,589.73. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 769,607 shares in the company, valued at $217,898,829.91. The trade was a 18.85% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 1.50% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On General Dynamics

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in GD. Rialto Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in General Dynamics by 213.8% during the first quarter. Rialto Wealth Management LLC now owns 91 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 62 shares during the last quarter. Inlight Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in General Dynamics during the first quarter worth $26,000. Copia Wealth Management acquired a new position in General Dynamics during the fourth quarter worth $27,000. Smallwood Wealth Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in General Dynamics during the first quarter worth $27,000. Finally, Hoey Investments Inc. acquired a new position in General Dynamics during the fourth quarter worth $28,000. 86.14% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About General Dynamics

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.