General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) to Repurchase 10,000,000 Outstanding Shares

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock repurchase plan on Wednesday, December 4th, RTT News reports. The company plans to buyback 10,000,000 shares. This buyback authorization permits the aerospace company to purchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are usually an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

General Dynamics Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:GD opened at $275.15 on Friday. General Dynamics has a one year low of $247.36 and a one year high of $316.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a current ratio of 1.32. The stock has a market capitalization of $75.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.96, a PEG ratio of 1.68 and a beta of 0.59. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $296.00 and a 200-day simple moving average of $295.03.

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The aerospace company reported $3.35 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.48 by ($0.13). The firm had revenue of $11.67 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $11.65 billion. General Dynamics had a return on equity of 16.59% and a net margin of 7.90%. General Dynamics’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $3.04 EPS. On average, analysts predict that General Dynamics will post 13.92 EPS for the current year.

General Dynamics Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 7th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 17th will be given a $1.42 dividend. This represents a $5.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.06%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 17th. General Dynamics’s dividend payout ratio is presently 43.26%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of General Dynamics from $325.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 29th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their price target on shares of General Dynamics from $309.00 to $306.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Sanford C. Bernstein decreased their price objective on General Dynamics from $343.00 to $331.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Morgan Stanley upgraded General Dynamics from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price target for the company from $293.00 to $345.00 in a research note on Friday, August 9th. Finally, TD Cowen upgraded General Dynamics to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $323.69.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other 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 owns 20,296 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,701,349.36. This trade represents a 21.44 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Peter A. Wall sold 1,320 shares of General Dynamics stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $308.05, for a total value of $406,626.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 3,592 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,106,515.60. This trade represents a 26.87 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.52% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.