Royal Bank of Canada Has Lowered Expectations for General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) Stock Price

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) had its price target reduced by equities researchers at Royal Bank of Canada from $290.00 to $280.00 in a note issued to investors on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has a “sector perform” rating on the aerospace company’s stock. Royal Bank of Canada’s target price indicates a potential upside of 8.88% from the company’s current price.

Other analysts have also recently issued reports about the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their price target on General Dynamics from $303.00 to $295.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 2nd. Vertical Research cut General Dynamics from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $352.00 to $290.00 in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on General Dynamics from $279.00 to $276.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday. TD Cowen dropped their price target on General Dynamics from $315.00 to $295.00 in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, Baird R W cut General Dynamics from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, General Dynamics currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $301.24.

General Dynamics Stock Up 0.1 %

General Dynamics stock opened at $257.17 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $70.71 billion, a PE ratio of 18.85, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 0.61. General Dynamics has a 12 month low of $247.01 and a 12 month high of $316.90. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $267.54 and a 200-day simple moving average of $287.02. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 1.32 and a quick ratio of 0.80.

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The aerospace company reported $4.15 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.29 by ($0.14). General Dynamics had a net margin of 7.93% and a return on equity of 17.08%. On average, analysts anticipate that General Dynamics will post 15.92 EPS for the current fiscal year.

General Dynamics announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock repurchase program on Wednesday, December 4th that allows the company to buyback 10,000,000 outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the aerospace company to purchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are generally an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other General Dynamics news, VP Christopher J. Brady sold 5,540 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $280.91, for a total value of $1,556,241.40. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 20,296 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,701,349.36. This represents a 21.44 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. 1.52% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On General Dynamics

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of 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 in the last quarter. Financial Life Planners acquired a new position in shares of General Dynamics in the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Hara Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of General Dynamics in the 3rd quarter valued at $26,000. Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of General Dynamics in the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. Finally, Heck Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of General Dynamics in the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. 86.14% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.