Citigroup Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) Stock

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) had its target price upped by analysts at Citigroup from $354.00 to $360.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a “buy” rating on the aerospace company’s stock. Citigroup’s target price would suggest a potential upside of 34.02% from the company’s previous close.

Other equities analysts have also recently issued research reports about the company. Wolfe Research cut General Dynamics from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered shares of General Dynamics from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and dropped their price objective for the stock from $283.00 to $245.00 in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Barclays cut their price objective on shares of General Dynamics from $330.00 to $305.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Jefferies Financial Group restated a “hold” rating and issued a $300.00 target price (down previously from $345.00) on shares of General Dynamics in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, Seaport Res Ptn downgraded shares of General Dynamics from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, October 11th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $304.88.

General Dynamics Price Performance

General Dynamics stock opened at $268.62 on Tuesday. General Dynamics has a 52-week low of $247.88 and a 52-week high of $316.90. The company has a market cap of $73.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.46, a PEG ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 0.61. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $271.10 and its 200 day moving average is $288.01. The company has a quick ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 1.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32.

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The aerospace company reported $3.35 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.48 by ($0.13). General Dynamics had a net margin of 7.90% and a return on equity of 16.59%. The business had revenue of $11.67 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $11.65 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $3.04 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 10.4% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts forecast that General Dynamics will post 13.73 EPS for the current fiscal year.

General Dynamics declared that its board has approved a share repurchase plan on Wednesday, December 4th that allows the company to buyback 10,000,000 outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the aerospace company to buy shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are often a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Activity

In other General Dynamics news, VP Christopher J. Brady sold 5,540 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, November 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $280.91, for a total transaction of $1,556,241.40. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 20,296 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,701,349.36. This trade represents a 21.44 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On General Dynamics

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its holdings in General Dynamics by 0.8% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 14,205,330 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $4,292,851,000 after purchasing an additional 109,618 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its position in shares of General Dynamics by 9.4% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 10,945,110 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $3,307,612,000 after buying an additional 943,247 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its stake in shares of General Dynamics by 2.5% during the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 7,829,662 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $2,366,124,000 after acquiring an additional 189,904 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in General Dynamics by 13.0% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 5,557,404 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $1,674,998,000 after acquiring an additional 638,342 shares during the last quarter. Finally, FMR LLC boosted its stake in General Dynamics by 0.5% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 4,940,537 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $1,493,030,000 after acquiring an additional 24,464 shares in the last quarter. 86.14% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.