General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) Announces Quarterly Earnings Results, Misses Expectations By $0.01 EPS

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday. The aerospace company reported $2.88 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.89 by ($0.01), Briefing.com reports. General Dynamics had a return on equity of 16.48% and a net margin of 7.85%. The firm had revenue of $10.73 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.26 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $2.64 earnings per share. General Dynamics’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.6% on a year-over-year basis.

General Dynamics Price Performance

Shares of NYSE GD traded down $0.49 during trading on Friday, hitting $284.41. 1,244,205 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,231,567. The company has a market cap of $78.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.20, a PEG ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 0.68. General Dynamics has a 1 year low of $202.35 and a 1 year high of $296.50. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $280.86 and its 200 day moving average price is $261.71. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41, a current ratio of 1.44 and a quick ratio of 0.92.

General Dynamics Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 12th will be given a dividend of $1.42 per share. This is a positive change from General Dynamics’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.32. This represents a $5.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.00%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 11th. General Dynamics’s payout ratio is presently 46.33%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have weighed in on the stock. StockNews.com raised shares of General Dynamics from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on shares of General Dynamics from $253.00 to $284.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 16th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of General Dynamics from $291.00 to $322.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of General Dynamics from $280.00 to $298.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday. Finally, UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of General Dynamics from $286.00 to $296.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, January 29th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, General Dynamics has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $285.63.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Phebe N. Novakovic sold 32,355 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $264.31, for a total value of $8,551,750.05. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 773,977 shares in the company, valued at approximately $204,569,860.87. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Insiders own 1.52% of the company’s stock.

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.