Wells Fargo & Company Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) Stock

Key Points

• Wells Fargo raised General Dynamics’ price target to $440 from $400 and maintained an “overweight” rating, implying roughly 16.1% upside from the reported $379 share price.
• Analyst sentiment is broadly positive: General Dynamics has a “Moderate Buy” consensus rating and an average price target of $409.68, with several brokerages recently increasing their targets.
• The company exceeded quarterly expectations, reporting $4.24 in earnings per share and $14.09 billion in revenue, while revenue grew 8.1% year over year; however, insiders have sold about $27 million of stock over the past 90 days.

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD - Get Free Report) had its price target upped by equities research analysts at Wells Fargo & Company from $400.00 to $440.00 in a report released on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an "overweight" rating on the aerospace company's stock. Wells Fargo & Company's target price suggests a potential upside of 16.10% from the company's current price.

Several other brokerages have also recently weighed in on GD. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on shares of General Dynamics from $400.00 to $440.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 9th. Robert W. Baird set a $430.00 target price on General Dynamics in a report on Thursday. TD Cowen lifted their target price on General Dynamics from $390.00 to $420.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price target on General Dynamics from $385.00 to $410.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a report on Thursday. Finally, Citigroup raised their price objective on General Dynamics from $364.00 to $404.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have given a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $409.68.

General Dynamics Price Performance

Shares of GD opened at $379.00 on Tuesday. The business's fifty day moving average is $361.54 and its 200 day moving average is $353.01. General Dynamics has a 12-month low of $306.77 and a 12-month high of $400.00. The company has a quick ratio of 0.96, a current ratio of 1.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23. The stock has a market cap of $102.54 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.15, a P/E/G ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 0.32.

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 29th. The aerospace company reported $4.24 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.96 by $0.28. General Dynamics had a net margin of 8.18% and a return on equity of 17.43%. The firm had revenue of $14.09 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $13.52 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $3.74 earnings per share. The business's revenue was up 8.1% on a year-over-year basis. General Dynamics has set its FY 2026 guidance at 16.800-16.900 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that General Dynamics will post 16.97 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at General Dynamics

In other General Dynamics news, EVP Mark Lagrand Burns sold 36,480 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $345.29, for a total value of $12,596,179.20. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 38,975 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $13,457,677.75. The trade was a 48.35% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Mark Malcolm sold 5,480 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $365.00, for a total value of $2,000,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 10,643 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,884,695. This trade represents a 33.99% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 78,190 shares of company stock valued at $27,041,022. 1.40% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On General Dynamics

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of General Dynamics by 2.2% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 24,767,330 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $8,338,169,000 after purchasing an additional 528,769 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its holdings in General Dynamics by 2.7% during the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 11,323,170 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $3,812,058,000 after purchasing an additional 294,456 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in General Dynamics by 3.3% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 6,065,462 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $2,039,742,000 after buying an additional 195,604 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its stake in shares of General Dynamics by 2.2% in the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 5,307,389 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $1,786,786,000 after buying an additional 114,647 shares during the period. Finally, Northern Trust Corp raised its stake in shares of General Dynamics by 3.3% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 3,443,453 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $1,159,273,000 after buying an additional 110,536 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 86.14% of the company's stock.

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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