General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) Downgraded by Vertical Research to “Hold”

Vertical Research downgraded shares of General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research report sent to investors on Monday morning, Marketbeat.com reports. Vertical Research currently has $290.00 price objective on the aerospace company’s stock, down from their prior price objective of $352.00.

GD has been the topic of a number of other reports. TD Cowen raised General Dynamics to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. Sanford C. Bernstein decreased their price objective on shares of General Dynamics from $343.00 to $331.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “hold” rating and set a $300.00 price target (down previously from $345.00) on shares of General Dynamics in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on General Dynamics from $322.00 to $295.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Finally, Citigroup increased their target price on General Dynamics from $331.00 to $354.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $311.29.

General Dynamics Trading Down 2.1 %

NYSE GD opened at $257.89 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $70.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.64, a PEG ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 0.61. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $279.46 and its 200-day simple moving average is $290.01. The company has a current ratio of 1.32, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. General Dynamics has a 52 week low of $247.36 and a 52 week high of $316.90.

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 23rd. The aerospace company reported $3.35 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.48 by ($0.13). General Dynamics had a net margin of 7.90% and a return on equity of 16.59%. The firm had revenue of $11.67 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $11.65 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $3.04 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 10.4% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts predict that General Dynamics will post 13.84 EPS for the current fiscal year.

General Dynamics Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 7th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 17th will be paid a dividend of $1.42 per share. This represents a $5.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.20%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 17th. General Dynamics’s payout ratio is currently 43.26%.

General Dynamics declared that its board has initiated a stock buyback program on Wednesday, December 4th that allows the company to repurchase 10,000,000 shares. This repurchase authorization allows the aerospace company to buy shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are typically an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Activity

In related news, VP Christopher J. Brady sold 5,540 shares of the firm’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 transaction, the vice president now owns 20,296 shares in the company, valued at $5,701,349.36. This trade represents a 21.44 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 1.52% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On General Dynamics

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in GD. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in General Dynamics by 40,389.3% in the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 1,379,472 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $416,876,000 after acquiring an additional 1,376,065 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its stake in General Dynamics by 9.4% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 10,945,110 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $3,307,612,000 after purchasing an additional 943,247 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in General Dynamics by 13.0% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 5,557,404 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $1,674,998,000 after buying an additional 638,342 shares in the last quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP increased its holdings in shares of General Dynamics by 117.0% in the third quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 858,600 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $259,469,000 after buying an additional 463,000 shares in the last quarter. Finally, 1832 Asset Management L.P. lifted its position in shares of General Dynamics by 2,189.3% during the 2nd quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. now owns 374,207 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $108,572,000 after acquiring an additional 357,861 shares during the last quarter. 86.14% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

General Dynamics Company Profile

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.