Barclays Has Lowered Expectations for General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) Stock Price

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) had its target price lowered by equities research analysts at Barclays from $330.00 to $305.00 in a note issued to investors on Monday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has an “overweight” rating on the aerospace company’s stock. Barclays‘s target price indicates a potential upside of 17.53% from the stock’s current price.

GD has been the topic of a number of other reports. Vertical Research downgraded shares of General Dynamics from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and reduced their price objective for the stock from $352.00 to $290.00 in a research note on Monday. Wolfe Research cut shares of General Dynamics from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on shares of General Dynamics from $322.00 to $295.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. The Goldman Sachs Group downgraded General Dynamics from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and reduced their target price for the company from $283.00 to $245.00 in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada cut General Dynamics from an “outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating and lowered their price target for the stock from $330.00 to $290.00 in a report on Thursday, December 19th. 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 given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, General Dynamics has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $311.29.

General Dynamics Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:GD opened at $259.51 on Monday. General Dynamics has a 12-month low of $247.36 and a 12-month high of $316.90. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $278.61 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $289.74. The firm has a market cap of $71.36 billion, a PE ratio of 19.76, a PEG ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 0.61. The company has a quick ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 1.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32.

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

General Dynamics announced that its board has authorized a stock buyback program on Wednesday, December 4th that permits the company to buyback 10,000,000 shares. This buyback authorization permits the aerospace company to repurchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are usually an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other General Dynamics news, VP Christopher J. Brady sold 5,540 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 20,296 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,701,349.36. This trade represents a 21.44 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 1.52% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On General Dynamics

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. TD Asset Management Inc grew its stake in General Dynamics by 4.6% in the second quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 84,907 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $24,635,000 after acquiring an additional 3,769 shares during the period. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC bought a new position in shares of General Dynamics in the 2nd quarter worth $182,000. Chris Bulman Inc bought a new stake in General Dynamics during the 2nd quarter valued at $66,000. Acadian Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in General Dynamics by 239.7% during the second quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 8,075 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $2,341,000 after buying an additional 5,698 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Caprock Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of General Dynamics by 41.9% in the second quarter. Caprock Group LLC now owns 8,500 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $2,466,000 after buying an additional 2,511 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors 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.