General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) Rating Lowered to “Hold” at Wall Street Zen

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) was downgraded by Wall Street Zen from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report issued on Saturday.

GD has been the subject of a number of other research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on General Dynamics from $380.00 to $385.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, December 19th. Robert W. Baird set a $390.00 price target on shares of General Dynamics in a research report on Monday, October 27th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on shares of General Dynamics from $280.00 to $293.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research report on Friday, October 10th. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of General Dynamics from $408.00 to $410.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Bank of America restated a “buy” rating and set a $400.00 price target on shares of General Dynamics in a research note on Friday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have given a Buy rating, eight have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $372.32.

General Dynamics Trading Up 0.3%

Shares of GD stock opened at $351.00 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a quick ratio of 0.87 and a current ratio of 1.44. The company has a market capitalization of $94.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.72, a PEG ratio of 1.83 and a beta of 0.41. General Dynamics has a 52-week low of $239.20 and a 52-week high of $369.70. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $347.77 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $334.74.

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, January 28th. The aerospace company reported $4.17 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.11 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $14.38 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $13.77 billion. General Dynamics had a return on equity of 17.57% and a net margin of 8.01%.The company’s revenue was up 7.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $4.15 EPS. General Dynamics has set its FY 2026 guidance at 16.100-16.200 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that General Dynamics will post 14.83 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, VP David Paddock sold 20,360 shares of General Dynamics stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $334.92, for a total value of $6,818,971.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president directly owned 36,644 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,272,808.48. The trade was a 35.72% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 1.50% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of General Dynamics

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Gold Investment Management Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of General Dynamics by 73.5% in the third quarter. Gold Investment Management Ltd. now owns 10,700 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $3,649,000 after purchasing an additional 4,532 shares during the period. Davis Capital Management purchased a new position in General Dynamics during the third quarter worth about $1,007,000. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC grew its position in General Dynamics by 20.9% during the second quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 299,137 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $87,246,000 after buying an additional 51,655 shares in the last quarter. Nomura Holdings Inc. boosted its position in shares of General Dynamics by 77.3% during the 2nd quarter. Nomura Holdings Inc. now owns 22,000 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $6,417,000 after acquiring an additional 9,592 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund grew its holdings in shares of General Dynamics by 32.4% during the third quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund now owns 28,782 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $9,815,000 after purchasing an additional 7,037 shares in the last quarter. 86.14% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Key Headlines Impacting General Dynamics

Here are the key news stories impacting General Dynamics this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Revenue and backlog beat: Q4 revenue came in at $14.38B (+7.8% YoY) and business segments (notably shipbuilding) reported strength and rising backlog — a concrete demand signal supporting future revenue. General Dynamics Can Still Shoot Higher From Here
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst support: Morgan Stanley raised its price target to $410 (overweight) and Bank of America reaffirmed a $400 buy target — analyst optimism and higher targets can underpin further upside. MarketScreener: Morgan Stanley adjusts price target
• Neutral Sentiment: Canada says Gulfstream certification “underway”: Ottawa says the certification process for certain Gulfstream jets is in progress — this reduces some near‑term trade friction but leaves timing uncertainty. Canada says jet certification underway
• Neutral Sentiment: Street view remains constructive: analysts’ consensus and median price targets remain above the stock; many firms still rate GD a buy/overweight, supporting investor confidence even after mixed results. GD receives average recommendation of Moderate Buy
• Negative Sentiment: Guidance miss and EPS softness: GD set FY‑2026 EPS guidance at $16.10–16.20, below street expectations (~$17.26); Q4 diluted EPS was $4.17, slightly under consensus — a near-term growth and margin concern. Annual profit forecast disappoints
• Negative Sentiment: Cash flow and spending profile: operating cash from operations fell ~28% YoY to ~$1.56B while capex jumped (~$609M), pressuring free cash flow in the near term despite higher cash balances. Quiver Quant: Q4 2025 earnings
• Negative Sentiment: Political/regulatory risk: President Trump signaled tariffs/decertification threats on Canadian-made planes until certain Gulfstream approvals occur — a potential earnings/headwind risk for GD’s Gulfstream unit if escalation continues. Trump says US to decertify, levy tariff on Canadian planes
• Negative Sentiment: Insider sales: multiple insider sell transactions over the past six months (no purchases) may concern some investors about insider sentiment/timing. Quiver Quant: insider trading breakdown

About General Dynamics

General Dynamics is a major American aerospace and defense contractor that designs, manufactures and supports a broad range of products and services for government and commercial customers worldwide. Headquartered in the United States (Reston, Virginia), the company supplies platforms and systems used by armed forces, civil authorities and private operators across multiple domains including air, land, sea and cyber.

Its principal activities span several operating businesses: a business aviation unit that develops and supports Gulfstream business jets; land systems that produce armored combat vehicles and related logistics and sustainment services; marine systems that design and construct submarines and surface ships for navies; and mission systems and information technology operations that provide command-and-control, communications, cybersecurity and systems-integration services.