General Dynamics (GD) Competitors

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) and General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) are both large-cap aerospace companies, but which is the better stock? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their analyst recommendations, institutional ownership, community ranking, valuation, profitability, dividends, media sentiment, risk and earnings.

Do insiders and institutionals believe in NOC or GD?

83.4% of Northrop Grumman shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 86.1% of General Dynamics shares are held by institutional investors. 0.2% of Northrop Grumman shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 1.5% of General Dynamics shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Does the MarketBeat Community believe in NOC or GD?

General Dynamics received 285 more outperform votes than Northrop Grumman when rated by MarketBeat users. Likewise, 69.43% of users gave General Dynamics an outperform vote while only 62.40% of users gave Northrop Grumman an outperform vote.

Company	Underperform	Outperform
Northrop Grumman	Outperform Votes 644 62.40%	Underperform Votes 388 37.60%
General Dynamics	Outperform Votes 929 69.43%	Underperform Votes 409 30.57%

Which has more volatility & risk, NOC or GD?

Northrop Grumman has a beta of 0.35, suggesting that its share price is 65% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, General Dynamics has a beta of 0.68, suggesting that its share price is 32% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Does the media favor NOC or GD?

In the previous week, General Dynamics had 8 more articles in the media than Northrop Grumman. MarketBeat recorded 19 mentions for General Dynamics and 11 mentions for Northrop Grumman. Northrop Grumman's average media sentiment score of 0.85 beat General Dynamics' score of 0.54 indicating that General Dynamics is being referred to more favorably in the news media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
Northrop Grumman	8 Very Positive mention(s)	0 Positive mention(s)	2 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	1 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive
General Dynamics	12 Very Positive mention(s)	2 Positive mention(s)	1 Neutral mention(s)	1 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive

Do analysts recommend NOC or GD?

Northrop Grumman presently has a consensus target price of $494.33, suggesting a potential upside of 9.54%. General Dynamics has a consensus target price of $283.79, suggesting a potential downside of 0.31%. Given General Dynamics' higher possible upside, research analysts clearly believe Northrop Grumman is more favorable than General Dynamics.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Northrop Grumman	1 Sell rating(s)	7 Hold rating(s)	4 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.25
General Dynamics	0 Sell rating(s)	3 Hold rating(s)	7 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.70

Is NOC or GD a better dividend stock?

Northrop Grumman pays an annual dividend of $7.48 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.7%. General Dynamics pays an annual dividend of $5.68 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.0%. Northrop Grumman pays out 55.5% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. General Dynamics pays out 47.3% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Both companies have healthy payout ratios and should be able to cover their dividend payments with earnings for the next several years. Northrop Grumman has increased its dividend for 20 consecutive years and General Dynamics has increased its dividend for 33 consecutive years. General Dynamics is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.

Is NOC or GD more profitable?

General Dynamics has a net margin of 7.84% compared to General Dynamics' net margin of 5.23%. General Dynamics' return on equity of 23.07% beat Northrop Grumman's return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Northrop Grumman	5.23%	23.07%	7.81%
General Dynamics	7.84%	16.61%	6.23%

Which has higher earnings & valuation, NOC or GD?

General Dynamics has higher revenue and earnings than Northrop Grumman. General Dynamics is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Northrop Grumman, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Company	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Northrop Grumman	$39.29B	1.70	$2.06B	$13.48	33.48
General Dynamics	$42.27B	1.85	$3.32B	$12.02	23.68

Summary

General Dynamics beats Northrop Grumman on 16 of the 21 factors compared between the two stocks.