General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) Sets New 12-Month Low on Disappointing Earnings

Shares of General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD) reached a new 52-week low on Wednesday following a dissappointing earnings announcement. The stock traded as low as $247.01 and last traded at $255.73, with a volume of 645433 shares. The stock had previously closed at $262.57.

The aerospace company reported $4.15 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.29 by ($0.14). General Dynamics had a net margin of 7.90% and a return on equity of 16.59%.

General Dynamics Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 7th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 17th will be paid a $1.42 dividend. This represents a $5.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.26%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 17th. General Dynamics’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 43.26%.

General Dynamics announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock buyback program 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 programs are often a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

GD has been the topic of several research analyst reports. TD Cowen dropped their price objective on General Dynamics from $315.00 to $295.00 in a research note on Tuesday. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on General Dynamics from $295.00 to $279.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. UBS Group dropped their price objective on General Dynamics from $337.00 to $281.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday. Royal Bank of Canada downgraded General Dynamics from an “outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating and dropped their price objective for the stock from $330.00 to $290.00 in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Finally, Citigroup raised their price objective on General Dynamics from $354.00 to $360.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $303.71.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other General Dynamics news, VP Christopher J. Brady sold 5,540 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 20,296 shares in the company, valued at $5,701,349.36. This trade represents a 21.44 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 1.52% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On General Dynamics

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of GD. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in General Dynamics by 241.7% during the third quarter. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 82 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 58 shares in the last quarter. Hara Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of General Dynamics during the third quarter worth $26,000. Financial Life Planners bought a new stake in shares of General Dynamics during the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Lowe Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of General Dynamics during the third quarter worth $30,000. Finally, Heck Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of General Dynamics during the fourth quarter worth $28,000. 86.14% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

General Dynamics Trading Down 4.2 %

The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $268.57 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $287.48. The stock has a market cap of $69.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.16, a PEG ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 0.61. 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 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.