Wells Fargo & Company Issues Pessimistic Forecast for General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) Stock Price

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) had its price objective cut by investment analysts at Wells Fargo & Company from $295.00 to $279.00 in a report issued on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has an “equal weight” rating on the aerospace company’s stock. Wells Fargo & Company‘s target price would suggest a potential upside of 7.39% from the stock’s previous close.

Several other brokerages have also issued reports on GD. Vertical Research lowered shares of General Dynamics from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and cut their price objective for the company from $352.00 to $290.00 in a report on Monday. Royal Bank of Canada downgraded shares of General Dynamics from an “outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating and cut their price objective for the stock from $330.00 to $290.00 in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “hold” rating and set a $300.00 target price (down previously from $345.00) on shares of General Dynamics in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of General Dynamics from $331.00 to $354.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, Susquehanna upped their target price on General Dynamics from $333.00 to $352.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, General Dynamics currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $308.18.

General Dynamics Price Performance

NYSE:GD traded up $0.14 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $259.79. The stock had a trading volume of 206,881 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,278,653. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $278.61 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $289.74. General Dynamics has a 52 week low of $247.36 and a 52 week high of $316.90. The stock has a market capitalization of $71.43 billion, a PE ratio of 19.79, a PEG ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 0.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a current ratio of 1.32.

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The aerospace company reported $3.35 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.48 by ($0.13). General Dynamics had a return on equity of 16.59% and a net margin of 7.90%. The company had revenue of $11.67 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $11.65 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $3.04 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 10.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that General Dynamics will post 13.84 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

General Dynamics announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase program on Wednesday, December 4th that authorizes the company to repurchase 10,000,000 outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the aerospace company to buy shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are typically a sign that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other General Dynamics news, VP Christopher J. Brady sold 5,540 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $280.91, for a total value of $1,556,241.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 20,296 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,701,349.36. This represents a 21.44 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 1.52% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On General Dynamics

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of General Dynamics by 241.7% during the 3rd quarter. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 82 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 58 shares during the last quarter. Hara Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of General Dynamics in the third quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Lowe Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in General Dynamics in the 3rd quarter valued at about $30,000. True Wealth Design LLC acquired a new position in shares of General Dynamics during the third quarter worth about $34,000. Finally, Meeder Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of General Dynamics by 385.2% during the second quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 131 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $38,000 after buying an additional 104 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.