General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) Stock Rating Lowered by Wall Street Zen

Key Points

• Wall Street Zen downgraded General Dynamics from “strong-buy” to “buy”, while the broader analyst view remains constructive with a Moderate Buy consensus and an average price target of $387.40.
• General Dynamics reported better-than-expected Q1 results, posting $4.10 EPS versus the $3.67 estimate and revenue of $13.48 billion, up 10.3% year over year.
• Despite solid fundamentals, the stock has seen insider selling, including share sales by the CEO and an executive vice president, while institutional investors own 86.14% of the company.

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD - Get Free Report) was downgraded by investment analysts at Wall Street Zen from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a report released on Saturday.

Several other equities analysts have also commented on GD. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed a "sector perform" rating and set a $385.00 price target on shares of General Dynamics in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price objective on shares of General Dynamics from $327.00 to $313.00 and set a "sell" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, May 4th. UBS Group dropped their price objective on shares of General Dynamics from $385.00 to $371.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Bank of America reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $400.00 price objective on shares of General Dynamics in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Finally, Argus increased their price objective on shares of General Dynamics from $380.00 to $395.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 19th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have issued a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $387.40.

General Dynamics Stock Performance

Shares of GD stock opened at $343.20 on Friday. General Dynamics has a one year low of $268.10 and a one year high of $369.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a current ratio of 1.38. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $341.74 and a 200 day moving average price of $346.48. The firm has a market capitalization of $92.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.60, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.10 and a beta of 0.34.

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

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Marguerite Amy Gilliland sold 3,819 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $353.50, for a total value of $1,350,016.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 44,767 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,825,134.50. This represents a 7.86% 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 this link. Also, CEO Phebe N. Novakovic sold 32,918 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $354.09, for a total transaction of $11,655,934.62. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 766,457 shares of the company's stock, valued at $271,394,759.13. This trade represents a 4.12% 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 119,600 shares of company stock worth $41,650,580. 1.40% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On General Dynamics

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Dunhill Financial LLC grew its position in shares of General Dynamics by 620.0% in the 3rd quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 72 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 62 shares in the last quarter. KERR FINANCIAL PLANNING Corp bought a new position in General Dynamics during the third quarter worth $25,000. Dagco Inc. bought a new position in General Dynamics during the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC lifted its stake in General Dynamics by 1,725.0% during the first quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC now owns 73 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 69 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Burkett Financial Services LLC lifted its stake in General Dynamics by 650.0% during the third quarter. Burkett Financial Services LLC now owns 75 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 86.14% of the company's stock.

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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