General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) Receives “Outperform” Rating from Robert W. Baird

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD)‘s stock had its “outperform” rating reaffirmed by Robert W. Baird in a research report issued on Tuesday, Benzinga reports. They presently have a $345.00 price objective on the aerospace company’s stock. Robert W. Baird’s price target points to a potential upside of 21.30% from the company’s previous close.

Several other analysts have also recently issued reports on GD. Argus increased their target price on General Dynamics from $290.00 to $310.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, April 29th. Citigroup lifted their price objective on General Dynamics from $300.00 to $320.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 25th. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price objective on General Dynamics from $325.00 to $320.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 25th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded General Dynamics from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $305.00 to $335.00 in a report on Monday, April 29th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on General Dynamics from $253.00 to $284.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 16th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $305.56.

General Dynamics Trading Down 1.2 %

GD stock traded down $3.45 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $284.42. The company had a trading volume of 438,337 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,053,104. The stock has a market cap of $78.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.23, a PEG ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 0.60. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $294.27 and its 200 day moving average price is $278.06. General Dynamics has a 52 week low of $211.94 and a 52 week high of $302.75. The company has a current ratio of 1.44, a quick ratio of 0.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41.

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 24th. The aerospace company reported $2.88 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.89 by ($0.01). The business had revenue of $10.73 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $10.26 billion. General Dynamics had a return on equity of 16.48% and a net margin of 7.85%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 8.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $2.64 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that General Dynamics will post 14.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Phebe N. Novakovic sold 49,850 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, April 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $284.50, for a total transaction of $14,182,325.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 768,977 shares in the company, valued at approximately $218,773,956.50. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, CEO Phebe N. Novakovic sold 49,850 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, April 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $284.50, for a total transaction of $14,182,325.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 768,977 shares in the company, valued at $218,773,956.50. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO Kimberly A. Kuryea sold 13,344 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $298.16, for a total transaction of $3,978,647.04. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 79,255 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $23,630,670.80. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 118,486 shares of company stock valued at $34,391,642 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On General Dynamics

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Legend Financial Advisors Inc. raised its stake in shares of General Dynamics by 46.8% in the first quarter. Legend Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 113 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 36 shares in the last quarter. Diversified Trust Co raised its position in General Dynamics by 2.5% in the 1st quarter. Diversified Trust Co now owns 1,503 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $425,000 after buying an additional 36 shares during the last quarter. Fulton Bank N.A. raised its position in General Dynamics by 1.1% in the 1st quarter. Fulton Bank N.A. now owns 3,299 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $932,000 after buying an additional 37 shares during the last quarter. Copperwynd Financial LLC increased its position in shares of General Dynamics by 3.7% during the 4th quarter. Copperwynd Financial LLC now owns 1,056 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $274,000 after purchasing an additional 38 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Woodward Diversified Capital LLC increased its position in shares of General Dynamics by 2.3% during the 4th quarter. Woodward Diversified Capital LLC now owns 1,727 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $448,000 after purchasing an additional 39 shares during the last quarter. 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.