General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) Stock Price Expected to Rise, Citigroup Analyst Says

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) had its price target upped by equities researchers at Citigroup from $354.00 to $360.00 in a research report issued on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has a “buy” rating on the aerospace company’s stock. Citigroup’s price target suggests a potential upside of 32.16% from the company’s current price.

GD has been the subject of several other research reports. Robert W. Baird reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $283.00 price objective (down previously from $345.00) on shares of General Dynamics in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Baird R W lowered shares of General Dynamics from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. TD Cowen raised shares of General Dynamics to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. Wolfe Research lowered shares of General Dynamics from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Finally, Seaport Res Ptn downgraded shares of General Dynamics from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, October 11th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $304.88.

General Dynamics Trading Up 2.1 %

NYSE:GD traded up $5.73 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $272.40. 299,176 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,333,381. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 1.32 and a quick ratio of 0.80. The firm has a market cap of $74.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.79, a PEG ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 0.61. General Dynamics has a 52-week low of $247.88 and a 52-week high of $316.90. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $271.92 and a 200 day simple moving average of $288.09.

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 23rd. The aerospace company reported $3.35 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.48 by ($0.13). General Dynamics had a return on equity of 16.59% and a net margin of 7.90%. The business had revenue of $11.67 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $11.65 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $3.04 EPS. General Dynamics’s revenue was up 10.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts predict that General Dynamics will post 13.81 EPS for the current year.

General Dynamics announced that its board has initiated a share buyback plan on Wednesday, December 4th that permits the company to buyback 10,000,000 outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the aerospace company to reacquire shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are usually a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Activity

In other news, VP Christopher J. Brady sold 5,540 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $280.91, for a total transaction of $1,556,241.40. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 20,296 shares in the company, valued at $5,701,349.36. The trade was a 21.44 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 1.60% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On General Dynamics

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in GD. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in General Dynamics by 241.7% in the 3rd quarter. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 82 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 58 shares during the period. Hara Capital LLC acquired a new position in General Dynamics in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in General Dynamics in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Lowe Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in General Dynamics in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Finally, True Wealth Design LLC acquired a new position in General Dynamics in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.14% of the company’s stock.

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.