General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) Stock Rating Upgraded by StockNews.com

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD – Get Rating) was upgraded by stock analysts at StockNews.com from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note issued on Friday.

A number of other research firms have also recently commented on GD. Citigroup decreased their price target on General Dynamics from $298.00 to $283.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 26th. Susquehanna reduced their price objective on General Dynamics from $285.00 to $263.00 in a research note on Thursday, January 26th. Cowen raised their price objective on General Dynamics from $260.00 to $285.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 3rd. Robert W. Baird reduced their price objective on General Dynamics from $290.00 to $268.00 in a research note on Thursday, January 26th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on General Dynamics from $260.00 to $245.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 27th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $267.15.

General Dynamics Price Performance

GD opened at $231.04 on Friday. General Dynamics has a 12-month low of $207.42 and a 12-month high of $256.86. The company has a current ratio of 1.37, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $236.51 and its 200-day simple moving average is $237.81. The company has a market capitalization of $63.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.94, a PEG ratio of 2.10 and a beta of 0.84.

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD – Get Rating) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 25th. The aerospace company reported $3.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.53 by $0.05. General Dynamics had a return on equity of 18.93% and a net margin of 8.60%. The business had revenue of $10.85 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.66 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $3.39 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 5.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that General Dynamics will post 12.74 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at General Dynamics

In other news, VP Mark Lagrand Burns sold 27,600 shares of General Dynamics stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $226.93, for a total value of $6,263,268.00. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 56,909 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,914,359.37. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 1.50% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On General Dynamics

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in GD. Greenleaf Trust raised its holdings in shares of General Dynamics by 4.1% in the 3rd quarter. Greenleaf Trust now owns 4,913 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $1,042,000 after buying an additional 193 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its stake in General Dynamics by 31.5% during the 2nd quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 1,411,406 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $312,273,000 after purchasing an additional 337,999 shares in the last quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank grew its stake in General Dynamics by 11.3% during the 3rd quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 55,896 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $11,859,000 after purchasing an additional 5,675 shares in the last quarter. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. grew its stake in General Dynamics by 8.1% during the 2nd quarter. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. now owns 103,739 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $22,959,000 after purchasing an additional 7,795 shares in the last quarter. Finally, AMG National Trust Bank grew its stake in General Dynamics by 81.3% during the 3rd quarter. AMG National Trust Bank now owns 4,370 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $927,000 after purchasing an additional 1,960 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.83% of the company’s stock.

General Dynamics Company Profile

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General Dynamics Corp. is a global aerospace and defense company, which engages in design, engineering, and manufacturing to deliver state-of-the-art solutions. It operates through the following business segments: Aerospace, Marine Systems, Combat Systems, and Technologies. The Aerospace segment designs, manufactures, and sells business jets.