The Goldman Sachs Group Has Lowered Expectations for General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) Stock Price

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) had its price target cut by research analysts at The Goldman Sachs Group from $327.00 to $313.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Monday,MarketScreener reports. The brokerage currently has a “sell” rating on the aerospace company’s stock. The Goldman Sachs Group’s price objective suggests a potential downside of 9.25% from the company’s previous close.

Other equities research analysts have also recently issued research reports about the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on General Dynamics from $385.00 to $400.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and set a $385.00 price objective on shares of General Dynamics in a research note on Thursday. BNP Paribas Exane lowered their target price on General Dynamics from $430.00 to $390.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday. Sanford C. Bernstein reiterated a “market perform” rating and set a $398.00 target price on shares of General Dynamics in a report on Monday, January 12th. Finally, Susquehanna restated a “positive” rating and set a $420.00 price objective on shares of General Dynamics in a research note on Thursday, January 15th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have given a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $388.70.

General Dynamics Stock Down 0.3%

GD stock opened at $344.90 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 1.38, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $345.59 and a two-hundred day moving average of $346.34. The company has a market cap of $93.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.64, a PEG ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 0.34. General Dynamics has a 12 month low of $267.39 and a 12 month high of $369.70.

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, beating the consensus estimate of $3.67 by $0.43. The company had revenue of $13.48 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $12.70 billion. General Dynamics had a return on equity of 17.41% and a net margin of 8.07%.General Dynamics’s revenue was up 10.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $3.66 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that General Dynamics will post 16.46 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, VP Mark Rayha sold 4,370 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $348.79, for a total value of $1,524,212.30. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president directly owned 7,936 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,767,997.44. The trade was a 35.51% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Marguerite Amy Gilliland sold 3,819 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $353.50, for a total value of $1,350,016.50. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 44,767 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $15,825,134.50. This represents a 7.86% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 51,260 shares of company stock worth $18,133,971. Insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On General Dynamics

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of GD. Dunhill Financial LLC lifted its position in General Dynamics by 620.0% during the 3rd quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 72 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 62 shares during the period. KERR FINANCIAL PLANNING Corp acquired a new stake in General Dynamics during the 3rd quarter worth $25,000. Dagco Inc. acquired a new position in General Dynamics in the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of General Dynamics by 1,725.0% in the 1st quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC now owns 73 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 69 shares during the period. Finally, Burkett Financial Services LLC raised its stake in General Dynamics by 650.0% in the third quarter. Burkett Financial Services LLC now owns 75 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 65 shares during the period. 86.14% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.