General Dynamics Corporation (NYSE:GD) Sees Large Drop in Short Interest

General Dynamics Corporation (NYSE:GD) was the target of a significant drop in short interest in January. As of January 30th, there was short interest totaling 2,540,631 shares, a drop of 14.4% from the January 15th total of 2,969,122 shares. Currently, 1.0% of the company’s stock are sold short. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 1,576,356 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 1.6 days. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 1,576,356 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 1.6 days. Currently, 1.0% of the company’s stock are sold short.

Insider Activity at General Dynamics

In other General Dynamics news, VP Mark Rayha sold 4,370 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $348.79, for a total value of $1,524,212.30. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president owned 7,936 shares in the company, valued at $2,767,997.44. This represents a 35.51% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, VP David Paddock sold 20,360 shares of General Dynamics stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $334.92, for a total transaction of $6,818,971.20. Following the sale, the vice president directly owned 36,644 shares in the company, valued at $12,272,808.48. This trade represents a 35.72% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders own 1.50% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of General Dynamics

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in GD. Corient Private Wealth LLC raised its stake in General Dynamics by 613.0% during the fourth quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 613,732 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $206,619,000 after acquiring an additional 527,651 shares in the last quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV grew its holdings in shares of General Dynamics by 81.2% in the 4th quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 92,532 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $31,152,000 after purchasing an additional 41,461 shares during the last quarter. Summit Global Investments acquired a new stake in shares of General Dynamics during the 4th quarter worth about $414,000. Caitlin John LLC boosted its position in General Dynamics by 7,166.7% in the fourth quarter. Caitlin John LLC now owns 872 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $294,000 after buying an additional 860 shares in the last quarter. Finally, FAS Wealth Partners Inc. grew its stake in General Dynamics by 70.7% during the fourth quarter. FAS Wealth Partners Inc. now owns 1,065 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $359,000 after buying an additional 441 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 86.14% of the company’s stock.

General Dynamics Price Performance

NYSE GD opened at $349.36 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $94.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.61, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.05 and a beta of 0.41. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $351.04 and its two-hundred day moving average is $338.90. General Dynamics has a fifty-two week low of $239.20 and a fifty-two week high of $369.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 1.44 and a quick ratio of 0.89.

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 28th. The aerospace company reported $4.17 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.11 by $0.06. General Dynamics had a net margin of 8.01% and a return on equity of 17.57%. The company had revenue of $14.38 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $13.77 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $4.15 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 7.8% compared to the same quarter last year. General Dynamics has set its FY 2026 guidance at 16.100-16.200 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that General Dynamics will post 14.83 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

General Dynamics Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 6th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 16th were issued a $1.50 dividend. This represents a $6.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 16th. General Dynamics’s payout ratio is 38.83%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have issued reports on GD. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of General Dynamics from $408.00 to $410.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 29th. Melius Research upgraded General Dynamics to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 28th. Wolfe Research increased their target price on General Dynamics from $400.00 to $415.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, January 12th. BNP Paribas Exane lowered their price target on shares of General Dynamics from $420.00 to $410.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Finally, UBS Group set a $393.00 price objective on shares of General Dynamics in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have given a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $375.47.

About General Dynamics

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.