General Dynamics’ (GD) “Neutral” Rating Reaffirmed at Robert W. Baird

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD)‘s stock had its “neutral” rating reaffirmed by stock analysts at Robert W. Baird in a research report issued on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. They presently have a $283.00 target price on the aerospace company’s stock, down from their prior target price of $345.00. Robert W. Baird’s price objective points to a potential upside of 7.31% from the company’s current price.

Several other analysts have also recently issued reports on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on shares of General Dynamics from $295.00 to $279.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Royal Bank of Canada lowered shares of General Dynamics from an “outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating and reduced their target price for the stock from $330.00 to $290.00 in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Wolfe Research lowered General Dynamics from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. Citigroup lifted their target price on General Dynamics from $331.00 to $354.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lowered General Dynamics from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and reduced their price target for the company from $283.00 to $245.00 in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $304.53.

General Dynamics Trading Up 1.7 %

GD opened at $263.73 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $72.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.09, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 0.61. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $275.94 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $288.79. General Dynamics has a 1-year low of $247.36 and a 1-year high of $316.90. 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 issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 23rd. The aerospace company reported $3.35 earnings per share 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 analysts’ expectations of $11.65 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $3.04 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 10.4% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that General Dynamics will post 13.84 EPS for the current fiscal year.

General Dynamics declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase plan on Wednesday, December 4th that allows the company to repurchase 10,000,000 shares. This repurchase authorization allows the aerospace company to reacquire shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are usually a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling at General Dynamics

In related news, VP Christopher J. Brady sold 5,540 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 directly 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 1.52% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position 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 acquiring an additional 58 shares during the period. Hara Capital LLC acquired a new stake in General Dynamics in the 3rd quarter valued at about $26,000. Lowe Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of General Dynamics in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $30,000. True Wealth Design LLC acquired a new stake in shares of General Dynamics during the 3rd quarter valued at $34,000. Finally, Coston McIsaac & Partners boosted its position in shares of General Dynamics by 22.8% in the 3rd quarter. Coston McIsaac & Partners now owns 178 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $53,000 after purchasing an additional 33 shares during the period. 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.