General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) Upgraded to Buy at Jefferies Financial Group

Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a report published on Monday, MarketBeat.com reports. Jefferies Financial Group currently has $335.00 price target on the aerospace company’s stock, up from their previous price target of $305.00.

A number of other analysts have also commented on the company. Royal Bank of Canada cut their price objective on General Dynamics from $325.00 to $320.00 and set an outperform rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 25th. Citigroup lifted their price objective on General Dynamics from $300.00 to $320.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research note on Thursday, April 25th. Alembic Global Advisors lowered General Dynamics from an overweight rating to a neutral rating and set a $296.00 price objective on the stock. in a research note on Monday, January 29th. StockNews.com raised General Dynamics from a buy rating to a strong-buy rating in a research note on Thursday, April 25th. Finally, Susquehanna lifted their price objective on General Dynamics from $301.00 to $333.00 and gave the stock a positive rating in a research note on Friday, April 12th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, General Dynamics currently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $297.06.

General Dynamics Stock Up 1.2 %

Shares of NYSE GD opened at $287.79 on Monday. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $281.23 and its 200 day moving average is $262.41. The stock has a market capitalization of $78.96 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.47, a PEG ratio of 1.77 and a beta of 0.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41, a quick ratio of 0.87 and a current ratio of 1.44. General Dynamics has a 52 week low of $202.35 and a 52 week high of $296.50.

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 24th. The aerospace company reported $2.88 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.89 by ($0.01). The business had revenue of $10.73 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.26 billion. General Dynamics had a net margin of 7.85% and a return on equity of 16.48%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 8.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $2.64 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that General Dynamics will post 14.57 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

General Dynamics Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 10th. Investors of record on Friday, April 12th will be given a dividend of $1.42 per share. This is a boost from General Dynamics’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.32. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 11th. This represents a $5.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.97%. General Dynamics’s payout ratio is presently 46.33%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Legend Financial Advisors Inc. boosted its position in General Dynamics by 46.8% in the first quarter. Legend Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 113 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 36 shares during the last quarter. Diversified Trust Co boosted its position in General Dynamics by 2.5% in the first quarter. Diversified Trust Co now owns 1,503 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $425,000 after purchasing an additional 36 shares during the last quarter. Fulton Bank N.A. lifted its position in shares of General Dynamics by 1.1% during the 1st quarter. Fulton Bank N.A. now owns 3,299 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $932,000 after buying an additional 37 shares during the last quarter. Copperwynd Financial LLC grew its stake in shares of General Dynamics by 3.7% during the 4th quarter. Copperwynd Financial LLC now owns 1,056 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $274,000 after acquiring an additional 38 shares during the period. Finally, Woodward Diversified Capital LLC increased its holdings in General Dynamics by 2.3% in the 4th quarter. Woodward Diversified Capital LLC now owns 1,727 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $448,000 after acquiring an additional 39 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.14% of the company’s stock.

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.