General Dynamics Corporation (NYSE:GD) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Analysts

General Dynamics Corporation (NYSE:GD) has been assigned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the twenty-one brokerages that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, five have assigned a hold recommendation, thirteen have given a buy recommendation and two have given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year price objective among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $388.40.

Several research firms have recently issued reports on GD. Wells Fargo & Company began coverage on shares of General Dynamics in a report on Wednesday, April 1st. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $400.00 target price for the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their target price on shares of General Dynamics from $387.00 to $377.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. Royal Bank Of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $385.00 target price on shares of General Dynamics in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of General Dynamics from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Saturday, June 13th. Finally, Citigroup lowered their target price on shares of General Dynamics from $380.00 to $364.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, May 18th.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Mark Malcolm sold 5,480 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $365.00, for a total value of $2,000,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 10,643 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,884,695. This trade represents a 33.99% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Mark Lagrand Burns sold 36,480 shares of General Dynamics stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $345.29, for a total transaction of $12,596,179.20. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 38,975 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $13,457,677.75. The trade was a 48.35% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 78,190 shares of company stock valued at $27,041,022 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On General Dynamics

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in GD. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its holdings in General Dynamics by 16.9% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 2,885 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $760,000 after buying an additional 417 shares in the last quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in General Dynamics by 140.2% during the 1st quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 3,445 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $938,000 after buying an additional 2,011 shares in the last quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC bought a new stake in General Dynamics during the 2nd quarter valued at about $240,000. Flow Traders U.S. LLC bought a new stake in General Dynamics during the 2nd quarter valued at about $352,000. Finally, Jump Financial LLC bought a new stake in General Dynamics during the 2nd quarter valued at about $1,284,000. Institutional investors own 86.14% of the company’s stock.

General Dynamics Price Performance

GD stock opened at $346.30 on Monday. General Dynamics has a 52 week low of $288.62 and a 52 week high of $369.70. The company has a quick ratio of 0.90, a current ratio of 1.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $341.71 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $347.58. The firm has a market capitalization of $93.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.79, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 0.34.

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 29th. The aerospace company reported $4.10 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.67 by $0.43. General Dynamics had a net margin of 8.07% and a return on equity of 17.41%. The business had revenue of $13.48 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $12.70 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $3.66 earnings per share. General Dynamics’s quarterly revenue was up 10.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts anticipate that General Dynamics will post 16.63 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

General Dynamics Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 7th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 2nd will be issued a $1.59 dividend. This represents a $6.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.8%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 2nd. General Dynamics’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 40.03%.

General Dynamics Company Profile

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.