General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) Issues Quarterly Earnings Results

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) posted its earnings results on Wednesday. The aerospace company reported $2.88 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.89 by ($0.01), Briefing.com reports. General Dynamics had a net margin of 7.85% and a return on equity of 16.48%. The business had revenue of $10.73 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $10.26 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.64 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 8.6% compared to the same quarter last year.

General Dynamics Stock Down 0.2 %

Shares of NYSE GD traded down $0.49 during trading on Friday, reaching $284.41. 1,244,205 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,231,567. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $280.86 and its 200 day moving average price is $261.71. General Dynamics has a twelve month low of $202.35 and a twelve month high of $296.50. The company has a quick ratio of 0.92, a current ratio of 1.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41. The company has a market capitalization of $78.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.20, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 0.68.

General Dynamics Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 12th will be given a dividend of $1.42 per share. This is a boost from General Dynamics’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.32. This represents a $5.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.00%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 11th. General Dynamics’s payout ratio is presently 46.33%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have weighed in on GD. Citigroup raised their target price on shares of General Dynamics from $300.00 to $320.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on shares of General Dynamics from $253.00 to $284.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 16th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of General Dynamics from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of General Dynamics from $280.00 to $298.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday. Finally, Barclays lifted their price target on shares of General Dynamics from $285.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, April 15th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $285.63.

Insider Transactions at General Dynamics

In other General Dynamics news, CEO Phebe N. Novakovic sold 32,355 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, January 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $264.31, for a total transaction of $8,551,750.05. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 773,977 shares in the company, valued at $204,569,860.87. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 1.52% 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.