General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD) Given Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD) has earned a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the twelve research firms that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and eight have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month target price among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $293.43.

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on GD shares. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on General Dynamics from $291.00 to $322.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, April 4th. Susquehanna lifted their price target on General Dynamics from $301.00 to $333.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a report on Friday, April 12th. StockNews.com upgraded General Dynamics from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on General Dynamics from $253.00 to $284.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 16th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on General Dynamics from $280.00 to $298.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday.

General Dynamics Trading Down 0.2 %

GD opened at $284.41 on Friday. General Dynamics has a 52 week low of $202.35 and a 52 week high of $296.50. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $280.86 and its two-hundred day moving average is $261.71. The company has a market capitalization of $78.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.20, a PEG ratio of 1.79 and a beta of 0.68. The company has a quick ratio of 0.92, a current ratio of 1.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41.

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The aerospace company reported $2.88 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.89 by ($0.01). General Dynamics had a net margin of 7.85% and a return on equity of 16.48%. The company had revenue of $10.73 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $10.26 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $2.64 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 8.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts forecast that General Dynamics will post 14.56 earnings per share for the current year.

General Dynamics Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 12th will be given a dividend of $1.42 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 11th. This represents a $5.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.00%. This is a boost from General Dynamics’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.32. General Dynamics’s payout ratio is currently 46.33%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other General Dynamics news, CEO Phebe N. Novakovic sold 32,355 shares of General Dynamics stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $264.31, for a total transaction of $8,551,750.05. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 773,977 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $204,569,860.87. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 1.52% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On General Dynamics

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of GD. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of General Dynamics in the 4th quarter valued at about $728,284,000. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its holdings in shares of General Dynamics by 12.0% in the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 16,360,526 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $3,615,185,000 after buying an additional 1,755,276 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of General Dynamics by 10,763.2% in the 4th quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 923,593 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $239,829,000 after buying an additional 915,091 shares during the period. Verity & Verity LLC acquired a new position in shares of General Dynamics in the 1st quarter valued at about $179,000. Finally, 1832 Asset Management L.P. lifted its holdings in shares of General Dynamics by 3,645.4% in the 4th quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. now owns 558,586 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $145,048,000 after buying an additional 543,672 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.14% of the company’s stock.

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.