General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) Cut to “Sector Perform” at Royal Bank of Canada

Royal Bank of Canada cut shares of General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) from an outperform rating to a sector perform rating in a report issued on Thursday, MarketBeat Ratings reports. The firm currently has $290.00 price objective on the aerospace company’s stock, down from their previous price objective of $330.00.

Other analysts also recently issued reports about 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 lowered their target price 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 reduced their price target 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. Susquehanna increased their price objective on General Dynamics from $333.00 to $352.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group restated a “hold” rating and issued a $300.00 target price (down from $345.00) on shares of General Dynamics in a report on Thursday, December 12th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $314.88.

General Dynamics Stock Up 1.3 %

Shares of General Dynamics stock opened at $263.64 on Thursday. General Dynamics has a 1 year low of $247.36 and a 1 year high of $316.90. The company has a market cap of $72.49 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.08, a P/E/G ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 0.59. The company has a current ratio of 1.32, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $288.41 and a 200 day moving average price of $292.53.

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) last posted its quarterly 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). General Dynamics had a return on equity of 16.59% and a net margin of 7.90%. The company had revenue of $11.67 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $11.65 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $3.04 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts expect that General Dynamics will post 13.87 EPS for the current fiscal year.

General Dynamics Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 7th. Investors of record on Friday, January 17th will be given a dividend of $1.42 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 17th. This represents a $5.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.15%. General Dynamics’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 43.26%.

General Dynamics declared that its board has initiated a stock repurchase program on Wednesday, December 4th that authorizes the company to buyback 10,000,000 shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the aerospace company to repurchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are usually a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling at General Dynamics

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 approximately $5,701,349.36. This trade represents a 21.44 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Company insiders own 1.52% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On General Dynamics

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of General Dynamics by 241.7% during the third quarter. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 82 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 58 shares during the last quarter. Hara Capital LLC bought a new stake in General Dynamics during the 3rd quarter worth about $26,000. American Capital Advisory LLC acquired a new stake in General Dynamics in the 2nd quarter valued at about $29,000. Lowe Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of General Dynamics in the third quarter worth about $30,000. Finally, Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in shares of General Dynamics by 120.0% during the second quarter. Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC now owns 110 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 60 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.