Wells Fargo & Company Issues Pessimistic Forecast for General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) Stock Price

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) had its price target lowered by research analysts at Wells Fargo & Company from $295.00 to $279.00 in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an “equal weight” rating on the aerospace company’s stock. Wells Fargo & Company‘s target price would indicate a potential upside of 6.75% from the company’s current price.

A number of other equities analysts have also weighed in on GD. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered General Dynamics from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and dropped their price objective for the stock from $283.00 to $245.00 in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Seaport Res Ptn downgraded General Dynamics from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, October 11th. Barclays reduced their price objective on shares of General Dynamics from $330.00 to $305.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday. Jefferies Financial Group restated a “hold” rating and set a $300.00 target price (down previously from $345.00) on shares of General Dynamics in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of General Dynamics from $331.00 to $354.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, General Dynamics currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $308.18.

General Dynamics Trading Up 0.7 %

Shares of NYSE:GD opened at $261.35 on Wednesday. General Dynamics has a 12-month low of $247.36 and a 12-month high of $316.90. The company has a market cap of $71.86 billion, a PE ratio of 19.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 0.61. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $277.21 and a 200 day moving average of $289.35. 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 (NYSE:GD) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 23rd. The aerospace company reported $3.35 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.48 by ($0.13). General Dynamics had a return on equity of 16.59% and a net margin of 7.90%. The firm had revenue of $11.67 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $11.65 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $3.04 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts expect that General Dynamics will post 13.84 EPS for the current year.

General Dynamics declared that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase plan on Wednesday, December 4th that permits the company to buyback 10,000,000 outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the aerospace company to purchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are generally a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, VP Christopher J. Brady sold 5,540 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 22nd. The stock was 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,701,349.36. This represents a 21.44 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 1.52% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On General Dynamics

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in General Dynamics by 67.6% in the third quarter. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 8,546 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $2,583,000 after purchasing an additional 3,448 shares during the period. Olstein Capital Management L.P. grew its holdings in shares of General Dynamics by 36.4% in the third quarter. Olstein Capital Management L.P. now owns 15,000 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $4,533,000 after purchasing an additional 4,000 shares during the last quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. increased its stake in General Dynamics by 10.0% in the 3rd quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. now owns 37,074 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $11,204,000 after buying an additional 3,363 shares during the period. Lummis Asset Management LP lifted its holdings in General Dynamics by 32.6% during the 3rd quarter. Lummis Asset Management LP now owns 10,368 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $3,133,000 after buying an additional 2,551 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its position in General Dynamics by 17.5% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 297,577 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $89,928,000 after buying an additional 44,387 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.14% of the company’s stock.

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.