General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) Rating Lowered to Sector Perform at Royal Bank of Canada

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) was downgraded by equities research analysts at Royal Bank of Canada from an “outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating in a report released on Thursday, Marketbeat reports. They presently have a $290.00 price objective on the aerospace company’s stock, down from their prior price objective of $330.00. Royal Bank of Canada’s target price suggests a potential upside of 10.00% from the company’s previous close.

GD has been the subject of a number of other reports. Seaport Res Ptn cut General Dynamics from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, October 11th. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of General Dynamics from $325.00 to $330.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 29th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on shares of General Dynamics from $322.00 to $295.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Citigroup lifted their target price on shares of General Dynamics from $331.00 to $354.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein dropped their price target on General Dynamics from $343.00 to $331.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 24th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating, nine 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 target price of $314.88.

General Dynamics Stock Performance

NYSE GD opened at $263.64 on Thursday. General Dynamics has a twelve month low of $247.36 and a twelve month high of $316.90. The company has a quick ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 1.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. The stock has a market cap of $72.49 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.08, a PEG ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 0.59. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $288.41 and its 200 day simple moving average is $292.56.

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 23rd. The aerospace company reported $3.35 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.48 by ($0.13). The company had revenue of $11.67 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $11.65 billion. General Dynamics had a net margin of 7.90% and a return on equity of 16.59%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $3.04 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts forecast that General Dynamics will post 13.87 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

General Dynamics declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase plan on Wednesday, December 4th that allows the company to repurchase 10,000,000 outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the aerospace company to purchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are usually an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, VP Christopher J. Brady sold 5,540 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owns 20,296 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,701,349.36. This represents a 21.44 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 1.52% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of GD. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of General Dynamics by 241.7% in the third quarter. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 82 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 58 shares in the last quarter. Hara Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of General Dynamics in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $26,000. American Capital Advisory LLC bought a new stake in General Dynamics during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $29,000. Lowe Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in General Dynamics during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $30,000. Finally, Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in General Dynamics by 120.0% in the second quarter. Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC now owns 110 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 60 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.14% 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.