General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) Price Target Cut to $284.00 by Analysts at JPMorgan Chase & Co.

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) had its target price dropped by JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $307.00 to $284.00 in a report issued on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has an “overweight” rating on the aerospace company’s stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co.‘s price target points to a potential upside of 11.89% from the stock’s current price.

Several other equities analysts have also issued reports on the company. Vertical Research lowered General Dynamics from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lowered their price target for the stock from $352.00 to $290.00 in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “hold” rating and issued a $300.00 target price (down previously from $345.00) on shares of General Dynamics in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. TD Cowen decreased their target price on General Dynamics from $315.00 to $295.00 in a research report on Tuesday. Royal Bank of Canada lowered General Dynamics from an “outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $330.00 to $290.00 in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their target price on General Dynamics from $245.00 to $241.00 and set a “sell” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, General Dynamics currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $301.82.

General Dynamics Stock Up 0.9 %

General Dynamics stock traded up $2.38 on Thursday, hitting $253.83. 296,462 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,659,480. 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 firm has a market cap of $69.79 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 0.61. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $268.00 and its 200 day simple moving average is $287.23. General Dynamics has a 1 year low of $247.01 and a 1 year high of $316.90.

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The aerospace company reported $4.15 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.29 by ($0.14). General Dynamics had a net margin of 7.90% and a return on equity of 16.59%. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that General Dynamics will post 13.66 earnings per share for the current year.

General Dynamics announced that its board has authorized a stock repurchase program on Wednesday, December 4th that allows the company to buyback 10,000,000 shares. This buyback authorization allows the aerospace company to purchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are usually an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Transactions at General Dynamics

In other General Dynamics news, VP Christopher J. Brady sold 5,540 shares of General Dynamics 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 transaction, the vice president now owns 20,296 shares in the company, valued at $5,701,349.36. The trade was a 21.44 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 1.52% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On General Dynamics

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its position in shares of General Dynamics by 0.8% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 14,205,330 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $4,292,851,000 after buying an additional 109,618 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its stake in General Dynamics by 9.4% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 10,945,110 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $3,307,612,000 after acquiring an additional 943,247 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its holdings in General Dynamics by 2.5% during the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 7,829,662 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $2,366,124,000 after purchasing an additional 189,904 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of General Dynamics by 13.0% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 5,557,404 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $1,674,998,000 after acquiring an additional 638,342 shares during the last quarter. Finally, FMR LLC grew its stake in General Dynamics by 0.5% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 4,940,537 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $1,493,030,000 after buying an additional 24,464 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.