General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD) Sees Large Increase in Short Interest

General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD - Get Free Report) saw a large increase in short interest during the month of April. As of April 30th, there was short interest totalling 2,030,000 shares, an increase of 13.4% from the April 15th total of 1,790,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 985,700 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.1 days. Approximately 0.7% of the shares of the stock are sold short.

Analyst Ratings Changes

GD has been the topic of several recent research reports. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded General Dynamics from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and increased their price target for the stock from $305.00 to $335.00 in a report on Monday, April 29th. Susquehanna increased their target price on General Dynamics from $301.00 to $333.00 and gave the stock a "positive" rating in a report on Friday, April 12th. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of General Dynamics from $285.00 to $310.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, April 15th. Alembic Global Advisors cut shares of General Dynamics from an "overweight" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $296.00 price target on the stock. in a research report on Monday, January 29th. Finally, StockNews.com cut General Dynamics from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, May 3rd. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $300.53.

General Dynamics Price Performance

NYSE GD traded up $0.54 on Wednesday, reaching $294.60. 752,339 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,097,192. The stock has a market cap of $80.83 billion, a PE ratio of 24.04, a P/E/G ratio of 1.83 and a beta of 0.67. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $285.33 and a 200 day simple moving average of $266.49. General Dynamics has a 12 month low of $202.35 and a 12 month high of $297.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41, a current ratio of 1.44 and a quick ratio of 0.87.

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The aerospace company reported $2.88 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $2.89 by ($0.01). General Dynamics had a net margin of 7.85% and a return on equity of 16.48%. The firm had revenue of $10.73 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.26 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.64 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up 8.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts predict that General Dynamics will post 14.55 earnings per share for the current year.

General Dynamics Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 10th. Investors of record on Friday, April 12th were paid a $1.42 dividend. This represents a $5.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.93%. This is a positive change from General Dynamics's previous quarterly dividend of $1.32. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, April 11th. General Dynamics's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 46.33%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Phebe N. Novakovic sold 49,850 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, April 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $284.50, for a total value of $14,182,325.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 768,977 shares of the company's stock, valued at $218,773,956.50. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, VP Gregory S. Gallopoulos sold 13,567 shares of General Dynamics stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $288.51, for a total value of $3,914,215.17. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 103,345 shares of the company's stock, valued at $29,816,065.95. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Phebe N. Novakovic sold 49,850 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, April 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $284.50, for a total transaction of $14,182,325.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 768,977 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $218,773,956.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 93,053 shares of company stock worth $26,827,518. Insiders own 1.60% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On General Dynamics

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado grew its position in General Dynamics by 879.9% during the 1st quarter. Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado now owns 340,359 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $96,148,000 after purchasing an additional 305,624 shares during the last quarter. Manhattan West Asset Management LLC increased its position in shares of General Dynamics by 47.8% during the first quarter. Manhattan West Asset Management LLC now owns 16,355 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $4,620,000 after acquiring an additional 5,290 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its holdings in General Dynamics by 2.5% in the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 4,782,612 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $1,351,041,000 after acquiring an additional 115,063 shares during the last quarter. BOKF NA lifted its position in General Dynamics by 51.3% in the 1st quarter. BOKF NA now owns 61,625 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $17,967,000 after acquiring an additional 20,907 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Kestra Advisory Services LLC increased its holdings in shares of General Dynamics by 27.2% in the 1st quarter. Kestra Advisory Services LLC now owns 49,666 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $14,030,000 after purchasing an additional 10,631 shares in the last quarter. 86.14% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

General Dynamics Company Profile

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.