General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) Downgraded by StockNews.com to “Buy”

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) was downgraded by equities researchers at StockNews.com from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a note issued to investors on Friday.

A number of other equities research analysts also recently weighed in on the company. Barclays raised their price objective on General Dynamics from $285.00 to $310.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, April 15th. Argus increased their price target on shares of General Dynamics from $290.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, April 29th. Alembic Global Advisors cut shares of General Dynamics from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $296.00 price objective for the company. in a research note on Monday, January 29th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of General Dynamics from $291.00 to $322.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 4th. Finally, Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of General Dynamics from $300.00 to $320.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 25th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, General Dynamics currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $300.53.

General Dynamics Stock Up 0.3 %

Shares of GD opened at $288.14 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $79.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.50, a P/E/G ratio of 1.79 and a beta of 0.67. The company has a current ratio of 1.44, a quick ratio of 0.87 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 fifty day moving average price of $282.47 and a 200-day moving average price of $263.37.

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The aerospace company reported $2.88 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.89 by ($0.01). General Dynamics had a return on equity of 16.48% and a net margin of 7.85%. The firm 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 company posted $2.64 earnings per share. General Dynamics’s quarterly revenue was up 8.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts expect that General Dynamics will post 14.55 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On General Dynamics

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in GD. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. boosted its holdings in General Dynamics by 188.3% in the 4th quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. now owns 40,830 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $10,602,000 after purchasing an additional 26,668 shares during the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. grew its position in General Dynamics by 99.3% in the fourth quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 29,045 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $7,542,000 after acquiring an additional 14,468 shares during the period. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec acquired a new stake in General Dynamics during the third quarter worth $16,077,000. Clough Capital Partners L P purchased a new stake in General Dynamics in the third quarter valued at $26,868,000. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of General Dynamics by 57.7% in the 3rd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 326,121 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $72,063,000 after purchasing an additional 119,264 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.14% of the company’s stock.

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.