Citigroup Reiterates “Buy” Rating for General Dynamics (NYSE:GD)

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD)‘s stock had its “buy” rating reaffirmed by Citigroup in a research note issued on Tuesday, Benzinga reports. They currently have a $283.00 price target on the aerospace company’s stock. Citigroup’s price objective suggests a potential upside of 26.37% from the stock’s current price.

Several other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports on GD. StockNews.com began coverage on shares of General Dynamics in a research note on Thursday, August 17th. They set a “buy” rating on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on shares of General Dynamics from $258.00 to $243.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their price target on General Dynamics from $248.00 to $250.00 in a research report on Thursday, July 27th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $261.23.

General Dynamics Price Performance

GD traded down $0.38 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $223.95. 108,652 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,164,646. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $221.77 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $219.13. General Dynamics has a 52-week low of $202.35 and a 52-week high of $256.86. The company has a market capitalization of $61.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.43, a PEG ratio of 1.99 and a beta of 0.84. The company has a current ratio of 1.39, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47.

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 26th. The aerospace company reported $2.70 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.59 by $0.11. General Dynamics had a return on equity of 18.01% and a net margin of 8.24%. The company had revenue of $10.15 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.45 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.75 EPS. General Dynamics’s revenue was up 10.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts forecast that General Dynamics will post 12.64 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at General Dynamics

In other news, CEO Phebe N. Novakovic sold 33,230 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $227.96, for a total transaction of $7,575,110.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 778,092 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $177,373,852.32. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, VP Gregory S. Gallopoulos sold 6,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $225.83, for a total transaction of $1,467,895.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 113,319 shares in the company, valued at $25,590,829.77. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Phebe N. Novakovic sold 33,230 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, August 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $227.96, for a total transaction of $7,575,110.80. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 778,092 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $177,373,852.32. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 53,230 shares of company stock worth $12,086,716. Company insiders own 1.50% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On General Dynamics

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Aspire Private Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of General Dynamics during the 1st quarter worth approximately $12,323,340,000. Certified Advisory Corp purchased a new stake in shares of General Dynamics in the 1st quarter worth about $25,000. Pacifica Partners Inc. increased its holdings in General Dynamics by 833.3% during the 1st quarter. Pacifica Partners Inc. now owns 112 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Live Oak Investment Partners acquired a new position in General Dynamics during the fourth quarter worth about $30,000. Finally, Guardian Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of General Dynamics in the first quarter valued at about $28,000. 86.08% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.