General Dynamics (GD) Competitors

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) and General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) are both large-cap aerospace companies, but which is the superior business? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their dividends, community ranking, valuation, analyst recommendations, media sentiment, risk, profitability, institutional ownership and earnings.

Is NOC or GD a better dividend stock?

Northrop Grumman pays an annual dividend of $7.48 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.6%. General Dynamics pays an annual dividend of $5.68 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.0%. Northrop Grumman pays out 52.3% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. General Dynamics pays out 46.3% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Both companies have healthy payout ratios and should be able to cover their dividend payments with earnings for the next several years. Northrop Grumman has increased its dividend for 20 consecutive years and General Dynamics has increased its dividend for 33 consecutive years. General Dynamics is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.

Which has stronger valuation and earnings, NOC or GD?

General Dynamics has higher revenue and earnings than Northrop Grumman. General Dynamics is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Northrop Grumman, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Company	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Northrop Grumman	$39.29B	1.81	$2.06B	$14.30	33.60
General Dynamics	$42.27B	1.85	$3.32B	$12.26	23.20

Does the media refer more to NOC or GD?

In the previous week, General Dynamics had 16 more articles in the media than Northrop Grumman. MarketBeat recorded 56 mentions for General Dynamics and 40 mentions for Northrop Grumman. General Dynamics' average media sentiment score of 0.82 beat Northrop Grumman's score of 0.57 indicating that Northrop Grumman is being referred to more favorably in the media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
Northrop Grumman	15 Very Positive mention(s)	3 Positive mention(s)	15 Neutral mention(s)	1 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive
General Dynamics	22 Very Positive mention(s)	16 Positive mention(s)	1 Neutral mention(s)	2 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive

Does the MarketBeat Community prefer NOC or GD?

General Dynamics received 286 more outperform votes than Northrop Grumman when rated by MarketBeat users. Likewise, 69.47% of users gave General Dynamics an outperform vote while only 62.39% of users gave Northrop Grumman an outperform vote.

Company	Underperform	Outperform
Northrop Grumman	Outperform Votes 647 62.39%	Underperform Votes 390 37.61%
General Dynamics	Outperform Votes 933 69.47%	Underperform Votes 410 30.53%

Is NOC or GD more profitable?

General Dynamics has a net margin of 7.85% compared to General Dynamics' net margin of 5.38%. General Dynamics' return on equity of 24.09% beat Northrop Grumman's return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Northrop Grumman	5.38%	24.09%	7.88%
General Dynamics	7.85%	16.48%	6.26%

Which has more risk and volatility, NOC or GD?

Northrop Grumman has a beta of 0.35, meaning that its share price is 65% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, General Dynamics has a beta of 0.68, meaning that its share price is 32% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Do analysts rate NOC or GD?

Northrop Grumman currently has a consensus price target of $503.00, indicating a potential upside of 4.69%. General Dynamics has a consensus price target of $293.43, indicating a potential upside of 3.17%. Given General Dynamics' higher probable upside, equities analysts clearly believe Northrop Grumman is more favorable than General Dynamics.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Northrop Grumman	1 Sell rating(s)	7 Hold rating(s)	4 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.25
General Dynamics	0 Sell rating(s)	4 Hold rating(s)	8 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.67

Do institutionals and insiders believe in NOC or GD?

83.4% of Northrop Grumman shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 86.1% of General Dynamics shares are owned by institutional investors. 0.2% of Northrop Grumman shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 1.5% of General Dynamics shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Summary

General Dynamics beats Northrop Grumman on 15 of the 21 factors compared between the two stocks.