General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) Lowered to Buy at StockNews.com

StockNews.com cut shares of General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) from a strong-buy rating to a buy rating in a research report sent to investors on Friday.

GD has been the topic of several other reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of General Dynamics from $280.00 to $298.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a report on Thursday, April 25th. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their target price on General Dynamics from $325.00 to $320.00 and set an outperform rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 25th. Susquehanna raised their price objective on shares of General Dynamics from $301.00 to $333.00 and gave the stock a positive rating in a report on Friday, April 12th. Argus increased their price objective on General Dynamics from $290.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a report on Monday, April 29th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised General Dynamics from a hold rating to a buy rating and upped their price target for the stock from $305.00 to $335.00 in a research report on Monday, April 29th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $297.06.

General Dynamics Price Performance

Shares of GD stock opened at $288.14 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.87, a current ratio of 1.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41. General Dynamics has a 12 month low of $202.35 and a 12 month high of $296.50. The firm has a market cap of $79.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.50, a PEG ratio of 1.79 and a beta of 0.67. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $282.18 and a 200 day moving average price of $263.05.

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) last released its 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). General Dynamics had a return on equity of 16.48% and a net margin of 7.85%. The business had revenue of $10.73 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.26 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.64 EPS. General Dynamics’s revenue was up 8.6% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts expect that General Dynamics will post 14.55 EPS for the current year.

General Dynamics Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 12th will be issued a dividend of $1.42 per share. This is a boost from General Dynamics’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.32. This represents a $5.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.97%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 11th. General Dynamics’s payout ratio is 46.33%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other General Dynamics news, CEO Phebe N. Novakovic sold 49,850 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, April 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $284.50, for a total value of $14,182,325.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 768,977 shares in the company, valued at approximately $218,773,956.50. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In related news, CEO Phebe N. Novakovic sold 49,850 shares of General Dynamics stock in a transaction on Friday, April 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $284.50, for a total transaction of $14,182,325.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now 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 this link. Also, VP Gregory S. Gallopoulos sold 13,567 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, April 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $288.51, for a total transaction of $3,914,215.17. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 103,345 shares in the company, valued at approximately $29,816,065.95. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 1.52% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in GD. MeadowBrook Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of General Dynamics during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Richardson Financial Services Inc. bought a new stake in shares of General Dynamics in the 4th quarter worth $25,000. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of General Dynamics in the first quarter valued at about $25,000. Briaud Financial Planning Inc bought a new position in shares of General Dynamics during the third quarter valued at about $27,000. Finally, Financial Synergies Wealth Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in General Dynamics during the first quarter worth about $29,000. 86.14% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.