General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) Earns Outperform Rating from Royal Bank of Canada

Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed their outperform rating on shares of General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) in a research report sent to investors on Thursday morning, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a $320.00 target price on the aerospace company’s stock.

A number of other equities analysts also recently issued reports on the company. BTIG Research assumed coverage on General Dynamics in a report on Wednesday, June 26th. They issued a buy rating and a $345.00 price target for the company. Argus upped their price target on General Dynamics from $290.00 to $310.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a report on Monday, April 29th. Robert W. Baird reissued an outperform rating and issued a $345.00 price objective on shares of General Dynamics in a report on Tuesday, July 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on General Dynamics from $291.00 to $322.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a report on Thursday, April 4th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded General Dynamics from a strong-buy rating to a buy rating in a report on Friday, May 3rd. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $311.33.

General Dynamics Stock Down 0.2 %

GD stock opened at $290.40 on Thursday. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $292.65 and its 200 day moving average price is $282.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a quick ratio of 0.87 and a current ratio of 1.33. General Dynamics has a fifty-two week low of $214.53 and a fifty-two week high of $302.75. The firm has a market capitalization of $79.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.69, a PEG ratio of 1.66 and a beta of 0.60.

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 24th. The aerospace company reported $3.26 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.30 by ($0.04). The business had revenue of $11.98 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $11.46 billion. General Dynamics had a net margin of 7.89% and a return on equity of 16.74%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 18.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.70 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that General Dynamics will post 14.51 EPS for the current fiscal year.

General Dynamics Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 9th. Investors of record on Friday, July 5th will be issued a dividend of $1.42 per share. This represents a $5.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.96%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, July 5th. General Dynamics’s dividend payout ratio is currently 46.33%.

Insider Buying and Selling at General Dynamics

In other General Dynamics news, CFO Kimberly A. Kuryea sold 13,344 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $298.16, for a total value of $3,978,647.04. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 79,255 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $23,630,670.80. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, Director Leon Rudy F. De sold 2,570 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $288.00, for a total transaction of $740,160.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 5,518 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,589,184. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO Kimberly A. Kuryea sold 13,344 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $298.16, for a total transaction of $3,978,647.04. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 79,255 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $23,630,670.80. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 55,069 shares of company stock valued at $16,295,101 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 1.52% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On General Dynamics

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Pacer Advisors Inc. increased its position in shares of 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 in the last quarter. Schechter Investment Advisors LLC grew its holdings in General Dynamics by 1.1% during the 4th quarter. Schechter Investment Advisors LLC now owns 4,591 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $1,192,000 after purchasing an additional 49 shares in the last quarter. IFG Advisory LLC grew its holdings in General Dynamics by 42.2% during the 4th quarter. IFG Advisory LLC now owns 3,315 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $861,000 after purchasing an additional 984 shares in the last quarter. Trueblood Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in General Dynamics during the 4th quarter valued at $540,000. Finally, Accel Wealth Management grew its holdings in General Dynamics by 6.9% during the 4th quarter. Accel Wealth Management now owns 1,321 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $343,000 after purchasing an additional 85 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.14% of the company’s stock.

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.