General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) Reaches New 12-Month High – Time to Buy?

Shares of General Dynamics Corporation (NYSE:GD) hit a new 52-week high on Thursday . The company traded as high as $370.65 and last traded at $367.8960, with a volume of 76763 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $362.86.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

GD has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Wall Street Zen upgraded General Dynamics from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Saturday, June 13th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their price target on shares of General Dynamics from $387.00 to $377.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of General Dynamics from $385.00 to $400.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. BNP Paribas Exane decreased their price objective on shares of General Dynamics from $430.00 to $390.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of General Dynamics from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $380.00 to $400.00 in a research report on Thursday, June 11th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, General Dynamics currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $388.40.

General Dynamics Stock Performance

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 firm has a market cap of $100.96 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.50, a P/E/G ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 0.34. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $344.97 and a 200-day simple moving average of $348.35.

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The aerospace company reported $4.10 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.67 by $0.43. The firm had revenue of $13.48 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $12.70 billion. General Dynamics had a net margin of 8.07% and a return on equity of 17.41%. The company’s revenue was up 10.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $3.66 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that General Dynamics Corporation will post 16.63 EPS for the current fiscal year.

General Dynamics Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 7th. Investors of record on Thursday, July 2nd will be paid a dividend of $1.59 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 2nd. This represents a $6.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.7%. General Dynamics’s payout ratio is presently 40.03%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other General Dynamics news, EVP Mark Lagrand Burns sold 36,480 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 38,975 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $13,457,677.75. This trade represents a 48.35% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Mark Malcolm sold 5,480 shares of General Dynamics stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $365.00, for a total transaction of $2,000,200.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 10,643 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,884,695. The trade was a 33.99% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 78,190 shares of company stock valued at $27,041,022 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On General Dynamics

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in GD. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its stake in General Dynamics by 16.9% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 2,885 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $760,000 after purchasing an additional 417 shares in the last quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC increased its stake 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 purchasing an additional 2,011 shares in the last quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC purchased a new position in General Dynamics in the second quarter worth about $240,000. Flow Traders U.S. LLC purchased a new position in General Dynamics in the second quarter worth about $352,000. Finally, Jump Financial LLC bought a new position in shares of General Dynamics in the second quarter worth approximately $1,284,000. 86.14% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.