General Dynamics Corporation (NYSE:GD) Given Consensus Recommendation of "Moderate Buy" by Analysts

Key Points

• Analysts are broadly bullish on General Dynamics, with a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from 21 analysts and an average 1-year price target of $388.40.
• The company beat quarterly expectations, reporting EPS of $4.10 versus $3.67 expected and revenue of $13.48 billion, up 10.3% year over year.
• General Dynamics also announced a quarterly dividend of $1.59 per share, payable August 7, implying an annualized yield of 1.8%.

Shares of General Dynamics Corporation (NYSE:GD - Get Free Report) have earned an average rating of "Moderate Buy" from the twenty-one analysts that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average 1-year target price among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $388.40.

A number of brokerages have commented on GD. Wells Fargo & Company began coverage on shares of General Dynamics in a report on Wednesday, April 1st. They set an "overweight" rating and a $400.00 target price for the company. Weiss Ratings cut shares of General Dynamics from a "buy (b)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 19th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of General Dynamics from $385.00 to $400.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Citigroup decreased their target price on shares of General Dynamics from $380.00 to $364.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, May 18th. Finally, UBS Group raised shares of General Dynamics from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, June 11th.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Mark Lagrand Burns sold 36,480 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $345.29, for a total value of $12,596,179.20. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 38,975 shares of the company's stock, valued at $13,457,677.75. This represents a 48.35% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Mark Malcolm sold 5,480 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $365.00, for a total transaction of $2,000,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 10,643 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,884,695. This trade represents a 33.99% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last three months, insiders sold 78,190 shares of company stock valued at $27,041,022. Corporate insiders own 1.40% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of General Dynamics

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of GD. WASHINGTON TRUST Co lifted its position in General Dynamics by 453.3% during the third quarter. WASHINGTON TRUST Co now owns 9,418 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $3,212,000 after purchasing an additional 7,716 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in General Dynamics by 2.2% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 24,767,330 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $8,338,169,000 after purchasing an additional 528,769 shares during the last quarter. Modern Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in General Dynamics by 114.7% during the third quarter. Modern Wealth Management LLC now owns 6,124 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $2,088,000 after purchasing an additional 3,271 shares during the last quarter. Jain Global LLC lifted its position in General Dynamics by 97.8% during the third quarter. Jain Global LLC now owns 169,305 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $57,733,000 after purchasing an additional 83,692 shares during the last quarter. Finally, M&T Bank Corp lifted its position in General Dynamics by 155.6% during the fourth quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 104,773 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $35,273,000 after purchasing an additional 63,781 shares during the last quarter. 86.14% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

General Dynamics Stock Down 0.1%

Shares of GD stock opened at $346.30 on Monday. General Dynamics has a 12 month low of $288.62 and a 12 month high of $369.70. The stock has a market cap of $93.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.79, a P/E/G ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 0.34. The company has a current ratio of 1.38, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $341.71 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $347.58.

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The aerospace company reported $4.10 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $3.67 by $0.43. General Dynamics had a net margin of 8.07% and a return on equity of 17.41%. The business had revenue of $13.48 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $12.70 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $3.66 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 10.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts expect that General Dynamics will post 16.63 earnings per share for the current year.

General Dynamics Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 7th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 2nd will be paid a $1.59 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 2nd. This represents a $6.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.8%. General Dynamics's dividend payout ratio is 40.03%.

General Dynamics Company Profile

General Dynamics is a major American aerospace and defense contractor that designs, manufactures and supports a broad range of products and services for government and commercial customers worldwide. Headquartered in the United States (Reston, Virginia), the company supplies platforms and systems used by armed forces, civil authorities and private operators across multiple domains including air, land, sea and cyber.

Its principal activities span several operating businesses: a business aviation unit that develops and supports Gulfstream business jets; land systems that produce armored combat vehicles and related logistics and sustainment services; marine systems that design and construct submarines and surface ships for navies; and mission systems and information technology operations that provide command-and-control, communications, cybersecurity and systems-integration services.

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