General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD) Receives $297.71 Consensus Target Price from Analysts

General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD) has been given an average recommendation of “Hold” by the twenty-one brokerages that are covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, thirteen have given a hold recommendation, six have assigned a buy recommendation and one has given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year price target among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $297.71.

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on GD shares. Vertical Research lowered shares of General Dynamics from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and reduced their target price for the stock from $352.00 to $290.00 in a research report on Monday, January 6th. UBS Group reduced their target price on shares of General Dynamics from $337.00 to $281.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their target price on shares of General Dynamics from $245.00 to $241.00 and set a “sell” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of General Dynamics from $244.00 to $261.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, March 7th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their price objective on shares of General Dynamics from $303.00 to $295.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 2nd.

General Dynamics Stock Up 0.4 %

Shares of NYSE GD opened at $262.19 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a current ratio of 1.37 and a quick ratio of 0.82. The company has a market cap of $70.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.22, a PEG ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 0.59. General Dynamics has a 1 year low of $239.87 and a 1 year high of $316.90. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $257.89 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $278.90.

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The aerospace company reported $4.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.29 by ($0.14). General Dynamics had a return on equity of 17.10% and a net margin of 7.93%. Research analysts anticipate that General Dynamics will post 14.83 earnings per share for the current year.

General Dynamics Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 11th will be paid a dividend of $1.50 per share. This is an increase from General Dynamics’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.42. This represents a $6.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.29%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 11th. General Dynamics’s payout ratio is presently 43.99%.

General Dynamics declared that its board has initiated a share repurchase plan on Wednesday, December 4th that allows the company to buyback 10,000,000 shares. This buyback authorization allows the aerospace company to repurchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are typically a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Activity at General Dynamics

In other General Dynamics news, SVP Marguerite Amy Gilliland sold 27,562 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $272.11, for a total value of $7,499,895.82. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 45,192 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,297,195.12. This represents a 37.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Laura J. Schumacher sold 1,796 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $255.68, for a total transaction of $459,201.28. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 11,175 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,857,224. This represents a 13.85 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 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 bought and sold shares of the company. Financial Life Planners acquired a new stake in General Dynamics during the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in General Dynamics during the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC acquired a new stake in General Dynamics during the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Copia Wealth Management acquired a new stake in General Dynamics during the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. Finally, Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in General Dynamics during the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. 86.14% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.