General Dynamics Corporation (NYSE:GD) Receives Consensus Recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from Brokerages

Key Points

• General Dynamics has a consensus analyst rating of "Moderate Buy" from 21 brokerages, with an average 1-year price target of $387.40.
• The company beat quarterly expectations, reporting $4.10 EPS versus $3.67 expected and $13.48 billion in revenue versus $12.70 billion expected, with revenue up 10.3% year over year.
• Insider activity was notable, as CEO Phebe N. Novakovic and EVP Marguerite Amy Gilliland sold shares, with insiders selling 119,600 shares worth about $41.7 million over the past three months.

General Dynamics Corporation (NYSE:GD - Get Free Report) has been assigned an average rating of "Moderate Buy" from the twenty-one ratings firms that are covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average 1 year price target among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $387.40.

GD has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. UBS Group reduced their target price on General Dynamics from $385.00 to $371.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Citigroup reduced their target price on General Dynamics from $380.00 to $364.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, May 18th. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on General Dynamics from $410.00 to $435.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their target price on General Dynamics from $385.00 to $380.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 7th. Finally, DA Davidson reduced their target price on General Dynamics from $384.00 to $375.00 in a research note on Thursday, April 30th.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other General Dynamics news, CEO Phebe N. Novakovic sold 32,918 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $354.09, for a total transaction of $11,655,934.62. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 766,457 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $271,394,759.13. This trade represents a 4.12% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Marguerite Amy Gilliland sold 3,819 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $353.50, for a total value of $1,350,016.50. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 44,767 shares in the company, valued at $15,825,134.50. This represents a 7.86% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last three months, insiders have sold 119,600 shares of company stock valued at $41,650,580. Company insiders own 1.40% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On General Dynamics

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of GD. Dunhill Financial LLC grew its position in shares of General Dynamics by 620.0% during the 3rd quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 72 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 62 shares during the period. KERR FINANCIAL PLANNING Corp acquired a new stake in General Dynamics in the 3rd quarter worth about $25,000. Dagco Inc. acquired a new stake in General Dynamics in the 4th quarter worth about $25,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in General Dynamics by 1,725.0% in the 1st quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC now owns 73 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 69 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Burkett Financial Services LLC boosted its holdings in General Dynamics by 650.0% in the 3rd quarter. Burkett Financial Services LLC now owns 75 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 65 shares during the last quarter. 86.14% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

General Dynamics Stock Performance

Shares of GD opened at $337.66 on Thursday. General Dynamics has a 12 month low of $268.10 and a 12 month high of $369.70. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $340.31 and a 200-day moving average price of $346.32. 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 firm has a market cap of $91.31 billion, a PE ratio of 21.25, a P/E/G ratio of 2.09 and a beta of 0.34.

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 29th. The aerospace company reported $4.10 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.67 by $0.43. The firm had revenue of $13.48 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $12.70 billion. General Dynamics had a return on equity of 17.41% and a net margin of 8.07%.The business's revenue for the quarter was up 10.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $3.66 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that General Dynamics will post 16.62 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

About General Dynamics

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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