General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) Shares Gap Up Following Analyst Upgrade

Posted by Defense World Staff on Oct 26th, 2023

General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD – Get Free Report) shares gapped up prior to trading on Wednesday after Bank Of America (Bofa) raised their price target on the stock from $295.00 to $305.00. The stock had previously closed at $233.00, but opened at $239.06. Bank Of America (Bofa) currently has a buy rating on the stock. General Dynamics shares last traded at $242.08, with a volume of 293,238 shares traded.

Other research analysts also recently issued research reports about the stock. UBS Group assumed coverage on shares of General Dynamics in a report on Tuesday, October 10th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $265.00 price objective on the stock. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of General Dynamics from $248.00 to $250.00 in a research report on Thursday, July 27th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on shares of General Dynamics from $258.00 to $243.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, September 18th. Susquehanna reiterated a “positive” rating and set a $270.00 target price on shares of General Dynamics in a research report on Monday, September 25th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft initiated coverage on shares of General Dynamics in a research report on Wednesday, September 27th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $271.00 price target on the stock. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $264.81.

Check Out Our Latest Analysis on GD

Insider Transactions at General Dynamics

In other news, SVP Marguerite Amy Gilliland sold 13,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $225.46, for a total transaction of $3,043,710.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 44,157 shares in the company, valued at $9,955,637.22. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, SVP Marguerite Amy Gilliland sold 13,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $225.46, for a total transaction of $3,043,710.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 44,157 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,955,637.22. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Phebe N. Novakovic sold 33,230 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $227.96, for a total transaction of $7,575,110.80. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 778,092 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $177,373,852.32. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 53,230 shares of company stock worth $12,086,716. Corporate insiders own 1.50% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On General Dynamics

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of GD. Mcdonald Partners LLC grew its position in General Dynamics by 0.9% during the first quarter. Mcdonald Partners LLC now owns 5,075 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $1,158,000 after buying an additional 45 shares during the period. Rock Creek Group LP grew its position in General Dynamics by 7.8% during the second quarter. Rock Creek Group LP now owns 623 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $134,000 after buying an additional 45 shares during the period. PSI Advisors LLC grew its position in General Dynamics by 40.4% during the third quarter. PSI Advisors LLC now owns 160 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 46 shares during the period. Alliance Wealth Advisors LLC UT grew its position in General Dynamics by 1.9% during the first quarter. Alliance Wealth Advisors LLC UT now owns 2,474 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $565,000 after buying an additional 47 shares during the period. Finally, B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. grew its position in General Dynamics by 0.6% during the second quarter. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 7,621 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $1,640,000 after buying an additional 47 shares during the period. 86.08% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

General Dynamics Stock Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 0.90, a current ratio of 1.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47. The company has a market cap of $66.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.10 and a beta of 0.83. The company’s 50-day moving average is $226.31 and its two-hundred day moving average is $219.99.

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD – Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 26th. The aerospace company reported $2.70 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.59 by $0.11. The firm had revenue of $10.15 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.45 billion. General Dynamics had a net margin of 8.24% and a return on equity of 18.01%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 10.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $2.75 earnings per share. Equities analysts predict that General Dynamics Co. will post 12.58 EPS for the current year.

General Dynamics Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 6th will be given a dividend of $1.32 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 5th. This represents a $5.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.18%. General Dynamics’s dividend payout ratio is presently 43.35%.

About General Dynamics

(Get Free Report)

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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