Wall Street Zen Downgrades General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) to Hold

Key Points

• Wall Street Zen has downgraded General Dynamics from a "buy" to a "hold" rating in their recent research report.
• General Dynamics has received mixed ratings from various analysts, with nine ratings as "buy," twelve as "hold," and one as "sell," resulting in an average target price of $315.78.
• The company's stock currently trades at $330.54, following a 1.9% increase during trading on the report day, and has shown significant yearly growth.

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD - Get Free Report) was downgraded by investment analysts at Wall Street Zen from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Friday.

Several other equities analysts have also recently issued reports on the stock. UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of General Dynamics from $309.00 to $333.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 24th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised shares of General Dynamics from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $298.00 to $342.00 in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. Susquehanna boosted their price objective on shares of General Dynamics from $315.00 to $365.00 and gave the company a "positive" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 24th. Cowen reissued a "buy" rating on shares of General Dynamics in a research note on Wednesday, June 25th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of General Dynamics from $284.00 to $345.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 24th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $315.78.

General Dynamics Stock Performance

Shares of General Dynamics stock traded up $6.11 during trading on Friday, reaching $330.54. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,043,498 shares, compared to its average volume of 997,137. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $318.73 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $291.48. The firm has a market cap of $88.91 billion, a PE ratio of 22.18, a P/E/G ratio of 1.99 and a beta of 0.50. General Dynamics has a fifty-two week low of $239.20 and a fifty-two week high of $330.63. The company has a current ratio of 1.36, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32.

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 23rd. The aerospace company reported $3.74 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.47 by $0.27. The company had revenue of $13.04 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $12.13 billion. General Dynamics had a net margin of 8.13% and a return on equity of 17.99%. General Dynamics's revenue was up 8.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $3.26 EPS. General Dynamics has set its FY 2025 guidance at 15.050-15.150 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that General Dynamics will post 14.83 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at General Dynamics

In other news, VP William A. Moss sold 17,700 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $316.40, for a total transaction of $5,600,280.00. Following the transaction, the vice president directly owned 16,627 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,260,782.80. This represents a 51.56% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Mark Lagrand Burns sold 43,860 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $312.28, for a total transaction of $13,696,600.80. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 39,875 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,452,165. The trade was a 52.38% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 275,020 shares of company stock worth $86,414,503. Company insiders own 1.50% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On General Dynamics

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Rialto Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in General Dynamics by 213.8% in the 1st quarter. Rialto Wealth Management LLC now owns 91 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 62 shares during the last quarter. Inlight Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in General Dynamics in the 1st quarter valued at about $26,000. Smallwood Wealth Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in General Dynamics in the 1st quarter valued at about $27,000. Quarry LP boosted its stake in shares of General Dynamics by 783.3% during the 1st quarter. Quarry LP now owns 106 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 94 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Perkins Coie Trust Co boosted its stake in shares of General Dynamics by 80.0% during the 1st quarter. Perkins Coie Trust Co now owns 117 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 52 shares during the last quarter. 86.14% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About General Dynamics

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.

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