General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) Releases Quarterly Earnings Results, Misses Estimates By $0.14 EPS

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) posted its earnings results on Wednesday. The aerospace company reported $4.15 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.29 by ($0.14), Zacks reports. General Dynamics had a net margin of 7.90% and a return on equity of 16.59%.

General Dynamics Price Performance

Shares of General Dynamics stock traded down $8.92 on Wednesday, hitting $253.66. 833,082 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,580,725. General Dynamics has a 1-year low of $247.01 and a 1-year high of $316.90. The company has a quick ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 1.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. The stock has a market capitalization of $69.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 0.61. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $268.57 and a 200 day moving average price of $287.48.

General Dynamics Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 7th. Investors of record on Friday, January 17th will be paid a dividend of $1.42 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 17th. This represents a $5.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.24%. General Dynamics’s dividend payout ratio is presently 43.26%.

Insider Buying and Selling

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

GD has been the topic of several research reports. Barclays cut their price target on shares of General Dynamics from $330.00 to $305.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 6th. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their target price on shares of General Dynamics from $245.00 to $241.00 and set a “sell” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “hold” rating and set a $300.00 price target (down from $345.00) on shares of General Dynamics in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Wolfe Research cut General Dynamics from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Finally, UBS Group reduced their price target on General Dynamics from $337.00 to $281.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, General Dynamics presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $303.28.

General Dynamics declared that its board has authorized a share buyback program on Wednesday, December 4th that allows the company to repurchase 10,000,000 outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the aerospace company to purchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are generally a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

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.