General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) Price Target Lowered to $295.00 at TD Cowen

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) had its price objective reduced by TD Cowen from $315.00 to $295.00 in a report issued on Tuesday.

Several other equities analysts have also recently weighed in on the company. Susquehanna dropped their price objective on General Dynamics from $330.00 to $315.00 and set a “positive” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Robert W. Baird restated a “neutral” rating and set a $283.00 price objective (down from $345.00) on shares of General Dynamics in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their price objective on General Dynamics from $303.00 to $295.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 2nd. The Goldman Sachs Group cut General Dynamics from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and dropped their price objective for the company from $283.00 to $245.00 in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group restated a “hold” rating and set a $300.00 price objective (down from $345.00) on shares of General Dynamics in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $301.24.

General Dynamics Stock Performance

NYSE GD opened at $256.93 on Tuesday. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $268.00 and a 200 day simple moving average of $287.23. General Dynamics has a 12-month low of $247.01 and a 12-month high of $316.90. The company has a current ratio of 1.32, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. The company has a market cap of $70.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.57, a PEG ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 0.61.

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) last posted its quarterly earnings results 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 7.90% and a return on equity of 16.59%. Sell-side analysts predict that General Dynamics will post 13.66 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

General Dynamics Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 7th. Investors of record on Friday, January 17th will be issued a $1.42 dividend. This represents a $5.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.21%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 17th. General Dynamics’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 43.26%.

General Dynamics declared that its board has authorized a share buyback plan on Wednesday, December 4th that authorizes the company to buyback 10,000,000 shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the aerospace company to buy shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are often a sign that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling at General Dynamics

In other news, VP Christopher J. Brady sold 5,540 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $280.91, for a total transaction of $1,556,241.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 20,296 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,701,349.36. The trade was a 21.44 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 1.52% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of General Dynamics by 241.7% during the third quarter. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 82 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 58 shares in the last quarter. Financial Life Planners purchased a new position in shares of General Dynamics during the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Hara Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of General Dynamics during the third quarter worth about $26,000. Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in General Dynamics in the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Finally, Heck Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in General Dynamics in the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. 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.