General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) Rating Increased to Buy at Jefferies Financial Group

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) was upgraded by research analysts at Jefferies Financial Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report issued on Monday, Marketbeat Ratings reports. The brokerage presently has a $335.00 price target on the aerospace company’s stock, up from their prior price target of $305.00. Jefferies Financial Group’s price objective would indicate a potential upside of 16.66% from the stock’s previous close.

A number of other research analysts have also recently issued reports on the company. Barclays lifted their target price on General Dynamics from $285.00 to $310.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, April 15th. Susquehanna boosted their price target on General Dynamics from $301.00 to $333.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a report on Friday, April 12th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on General Dynamics from $291.00 to $322.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, April 4th. Alembic Global Advisors cut General Dynamics from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $296.00 price target on the stock. in a report on Monday, January 29th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price target on General Dynamics from $286.00 to $296.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, January 29th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $297.06.

General Dynamics Stock Down 0.2 %

GD opened at $287.16 on Monday. General Dynamics has a fifty-two week low of $202.35 and a fifty-two week high of $296.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41, a quick ratio of 0.87 and a current ratio of 1.44. The company has a market capitalization of $78.79 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.42, a P/E/G ratio of 1.77 and a beta of 0.68. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $281.59 and a 200-day moving average of $262.72.

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

Insider Buying and Selling at General Dynamics

In other news, CEO Phebe N. Novakovic sold 49,850 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, April 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $284.50, for a total transaction of $14,182,325.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 768,977 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $218,773,956.50. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, VP Gregory S. Gallopoulos sold 13,567 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $288.51, for a total transaction of $3,914,215.17. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 103,345 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $29,816,065.95. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Phebe N. Novakovic sold 49,850 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, April 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $284.50, for a total value of $14,182,325.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 768,977 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $218,773,956.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Retirement Systems of Alabama grew its stake in General Dynamics by 0.4% in the 1st quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama now owns 50,111 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $14,156,000 after purchasing an additional 191 shares during the period. North Star Investment Management Corp. grew its stake in shares of General Dynamics by 2.1% during the 1st quarter. North Star Investment Management Corp. now owns 2,497 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $705,000 after acquiring an additional 51 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp grew its stake in shares of General Dynamics by 4.8% during the 1st quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 33,639 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $9,503,000 after acquiring an additional 1,530 shares during the period. Fortis Group Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of General Dynamics by 32,740.0% during the 1st quarter. Fortis Group Advisors LLC now owns 6,568 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $1,855,000 after acquiring an additional 6,548 shares during the period. Finally, HB Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in shares of General Dynamics by 2.4% during the 1st quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC now owns 30,665 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $8,663,000 after acquiring an additional 730 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 86.14% of the company’s stock.

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.