General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) Stock Price Expected to Rise, Wells Fargo & Company Analyst Says

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) had its target price hoisted by Wells Fargo & Company from $244.00 to $261.00 in a report issued on Friday,Benzinga reports. Wells Fargo & Company currently has an equal weight rating on the aerospace company’s stock.

GD has been the subject of several other research reports. TD Cowen lowered their price objective on shares of General Dynamics from $315.00 to $295.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Vertical Research downgraded shares of General Dynamics from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $352.00 to $290.00 in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Barclays decreased their price target on shares of General Dynamics from $305.00 to $285.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price target on shares of General Dynamics from $290.00 to $280.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, William Blair downgraded shares of General Dynamics from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, February 21st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have assigned a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $297.71.

General Dynamics Trading Up 2.7 %

NYSE GD opened at $271.82 on Friday. General Dynamics has a one year low of $239.87 and a one year high of $316.90. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $257.80 and its 200 day moving average price is $279.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a current ratio of 1.37. The firm has a market capitalization of $73.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.93, a PEG ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 0.59.

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) last issued 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 net margin of 7.93% and a return on equity of 17.10%. On average, sell-side analysts predict that General Dynamics will post 14.83 EPS for the current year.

General Dynamics announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase plan on Wednesday, December 4th that authorizes the company to buyback 10,000,000 outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the aerospace company to purchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are typically an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

General Dynamics Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 11th will be paid a $1.50 dividend. This represents a $6.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.21%. This is a boost from General Dynamics’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.42. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 11th. General Dynamics’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 41.64%.

Insider Activity at General Dynamics

In related news, Director Laura J. Schumacher sold 1,796 shares of General Dynamics stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 31st. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at $2,857,224. The trade was a 13.85 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Company insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On General Dynamics

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Financial Life Planners bought a new stake in General Dynamics in the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Hara Capital LLC bought a new stake in General Dynamics in the third quarter worth about $26,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC bought a new stake in General Dynamics in the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC bought a new stake in General Dynamics in the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Finally, Copia Wealth Management bought a new stake in General Dynamics in the fourth quarter worth about $27,000. 86.14% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.