General Dynamics (GD) Expected to Announce Earnings on Wednesday

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) is anticipated to release its earnings data before the market opens on Wednesday, January 29th. Analysts expect General Dynamics to post earnings of $4.29 per share and revenue of $13,048,364.97 billion for the quarter. Individual interested in registering for the company’s earnings conference call can do so using this link.

General Dynamics Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:GD opened at $266.22 on Monday. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $269.27 and its 200-day moving average price is $287.70. General Dynamics has a 1 year low of $257.26 and a 1 year high of $316.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 1.32 and a quick ratio of 0.80. The firm has a market capitalization of $73.20 billion, a PE ratio of 20.28, a P/E/G ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 0.61.

General Dynamics Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 7th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 17th will be issued a dividend of $1.42 per share. This represents a $5.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.13%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 17th. General Dynamics’s payout ratio is 43.26%.

General Dynamics declared that its board has authorized a stock 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 repurchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are usually an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Activity at General Dynamics

In other news, VP Christopher J. Brady sold 5,540 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 22nd. The shares were 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 represents a 21.44 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 1.52% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

GD has been the subject of several research reports. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “hold” rating and set a $300.00 price objective (down previously from $345.00) on shares of General Dynamics in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut General Dynamics from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and cut their price target for the company from $283.00 to $245.00 in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Baird R W downgraded General Dynamics from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Barclays dropped their target price on General Dynamics from $330.00 to $305.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Wolfe Research lowered General Dynamics from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. One investment 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 company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $304.88.

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.