General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) Stock Rating Lowered by Vertical Research

Vertical Research lowered shares of General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research note released on Monday morning, MarketBeat Ratings reports. They currently have $290.00 target price on the aerospace company’s stock, down from their prior target price of $352.00.

Several other brokerages have also recently weighed in on GD. TD Cowen upgraded shares of General Dynamics to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. 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 research note on Thursday, October 10th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their price objective on General Dynamics from $303.00 to $295.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 2nd. Royal Bank of Canada cut shares of General Dynamics from an “outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $330.00 to $290.00 in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on shares of General Dynamics from $322.00 to $295.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $308.18.

General Dynamics Trading Up 0.7 %

Shares of GD stock opened at $261.35 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 1.32, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. General Dynamics has a 12-month low of $247.36 and a 12-month high of $316.90. The stock has a market capitalization of $71.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.90, a P/E/G ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 0.61. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $277.81 and its 200 day moving average is $289.54.

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The aerospace company reported $3.35 earnings per share (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 firm had revenue of $11.67 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $11.65 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $3.04 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 10.4% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts expect that General Dynamics will post 13.84 earnings per share for the current year.

General Dynamics announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Wednesday, December 4th that allows the company to buyback 10,000,000 outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the aerospace company to repurchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are often a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

General Dynamics Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 7th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 17th will be given a dividend of $1.42 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 17th. This represents a $5.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.17%. General Dynamics’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 43.26%.

Insider Activity at General Dynamics

In related news, VP Christopher J. Brady sold 5,540 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 sale, 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 1.52% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of General Dynamics by 67.6% during the 3rd quarter. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 8,546 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $2,583,000 after purchasing an additional 3,448 shares during the period. Olstein Capital Management L.P. boosted its position in shares of General Dynamics by 36.4% during the third quarter. Olstein Capital Management L.P. now owns 15,000 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $4,533,000 after buying an additional 4,000 shares during the period. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. grew its stake in shares of General Dynamics by 10.0% during the third quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. now owns 37,074 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $11,204,000 after buying an additional 3,363 shares during the last quarter. Lummis Asset Management LP raised its holdings in shares of General Dynamics by 32.6% in the third quarter. Lummis Asset Management LP now owns 10,368 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $3,133,000 after buying an additional 2,551 shares during the period. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of General Dynamics by 17.5% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 297,577 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $89,928,000 after acquiring an additional 44,387 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors 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.