Barclays Issues Pessimistic Forecast for General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) Stock Price

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) had its target price cut by research analysts at Barclays from $305.00 to $285.00 in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an “overweight” rating on the aerospace company’s stock. Barclays‘s price target points to a potential upside of 10.31% from the company’s previous close.

Several other research analysts have also recently weighed in on GD. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their price objective on General Dynamics from $303.00 to $295.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 2nd. Baird R W lowered shares of General Dynamics from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Seaport Res Ptn lowered shares of General Dynamics from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, October 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on shares of General Dynamics from $307.00 to $284.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein dropped their price objective on General Dynamics from $343.00 to $331.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued 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.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $300.06.

General Dynamics Trading Up 0.4 %

NYSE GD opened at $258.36 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.37, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $266.07 and a 200 day simple moving average of $286.28. General Dynamics has a 12 month low of $247.01 and a 12 month high of $316.90. The firm has a market capitalization of $71.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.94, a PEG ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 0.61.

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The aerospace company reported $4.15 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.29 by ($0.14). General Dynamics had a net margin of 7.93% and a return on equity of 17.10%. On average, analysts predict that General Dynamics will post 14.88 EPS for the current fiscal year.

General Dynamics announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback plan on Wednesday, December 4th that allows the company to buyback 10,000,000 shares. This buyback authorization allows the aerospace company to reacquire shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are generally an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Transactions at General Dynamics

In other General Dynamics news, VP Christopher J. Brady sold 5,540 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $280.91, for a total value of $1,556,241.40. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 20,296 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,701,349.36. This represents a 21.44 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Laura J. Schumacher sold 1,796 shares of General Dynamics stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $255.68, for a total transaction of $459,201.28. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 11,175 shares in the company, valued at $2,857,224. This trade represents a 13.85 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.60% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On General Dynamics

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Czech National Bank raised its stake in shares of General Dynamics by 21.3% during the third quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 52,532 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $15,875,000 after acquiring an additional 9,208 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its position in General Dynamics by 17.2% during the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 3,834 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $1,159,000 after purchasing an additional 563 shares during the last quarter. WealthBridge Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of General Dynamics in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $250,000. Diversified Trust Co increased its stake in shares of General Dynamics by 7.1% during the third quarter. Diversified Trust Co now owns 2,163 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $654,000 after buying an additional 143 shares during the period. Finally, Miracle Mile Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of General Dynamics by 26.6% during the third quarter. Miracle Mile Advisors LLC now owns 2,486 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $751,000 after acquiring an additional 523 shares in the last quarter. 86.14% of the stock is currently owned by 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.