BTIG Research Begins Coverage on General Dynamics (NYSE:GD)

BTIG Research initiated coverage on shares of General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) in a report published on Wednesday morning, MarketBeat reports. The firm issued a buy rating and a $345.00 price objective on the aerospace company’s stock.

Other research analysts also recently issued research reports about the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of General Dynamics from $280.00 to $298.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a research report on Thursday, April 25th. Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of General Dynamics from $300.00 to $320.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research report on Thursday, April 25th. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of General Dynamics from $285.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a research report on Monday, April 15th. Sanford C. Bernstein boosted their target price on shares of General Dynamics from $290.00 to $302.00 and gave the stock a market perform rating in a research report on Thursday, May 23rd. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on shares of General Dynamics from $253.00 to $284.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 16th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, General Dynamics has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $303.24.

General Dynamics Trading Down 0.8 %

NYSE:GD opened at $290.14 on Wednesday. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $294.27 and a 200-day simple moving average of $277.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41, a quick ratio of 0.87 and a current ratio of 1.44. General Dynamics has a one year low of $210.65 and a one year high of $302.75. The firm has a market cap of $79.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.67, a P/E/G ratio of 1.68 and a beta of 0.64.

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 24th. The aerospace company reported $2.88 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.89 by ($0.01). General Dynamics had a return on equity of 16.48% and a net margin of 7.85%. The firm had revenue of $10.73 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $10.26 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.64 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 8.6% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts anticipate that General Dynamics will post 14.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

General Dynamics Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 9th. Investors of record on Friday, July 5th will be paid a $1.42 dividend. This represents a $5.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.96%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, July 5th. General Dynamics’s dividend payout ratio is currently 46.33%.

Insider Activity at General Dynamics

In related news, CFO Kimberly A. Kuryea sold 13,344 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $298.16, for a total value of $3,978,647.04. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 79,255 shares in the company, valued at approximately $23,630,670.80. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other General Dynamics news, CFO Kimberly A. Kuryea sold 13,344 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $298.16, for a total transaction of $3,978,647.04. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 79,255 shares in the company, valued at $23,630,670.80. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, VP Gregory S. Gallopoulos sold 13,567 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, April 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $288.51, for a total transaction of $3,914,215.17. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 103,345 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $29,816,065.95. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 118,486 shares of company stock worth $34,391,642 in the last three months. Company insiders own 1.52% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On General Dynamics

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in GD. Operose Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of General Dynamics during the third quarter worth $40,000. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC grew its holdings in shares of General Dynamics by 300.1% during the third quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 13,207 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $2,918,000 after buying an additional 9,906 shares in the last quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia grew its holdings in shares of General Dynamics by 12.7% during the third quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia now owns 24,522 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $5,419,000 after buying an additional 2,755 shares in the last quarter. Ancora Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of General Dynamics by 17.4% during the third quarter. Ancora Advisors LLC now owns 102,315 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $22,609,000 after buying an additional 15,191 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Gotham Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of General Dynamics by 40.4% during the third quarter. Gotham Asset Management LLC now owns 56,230 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $12,425,000 after buying an additional 16,194 shares in the last quarter. 86.14% of the stock is currently 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.