General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) Sets New 1-Year Low – What’s Next?

General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD)’s share price hit a new 52-week low during trading on Monday . The stock traded as low as $239.20 and last traded at $240.56, with a volume of 133127 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $250.01.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the company. Barclays dropped their target price on General Dynamics from $305.00 to $285.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Vertical Research lowered shares of General Dynamics from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lowered their price target for the company from $352.00 to $290.00 in a report on Monday, January 6th. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price target on General Dynamics from $290.00 to $280.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Wolfe Research downgraded General Dynamics from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on General Dynamics from $307.00 to $284.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $298.59.

General Dynamics Trading Down 1.2 %

The company has a quick ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 1.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $258.75 and a 200 day simple moving average of $275.35. The firm has a market capitalization of $66.29 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.14, a PEG ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 0.43.

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The aerospace company reported $4.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.29 by ($0.14). General Dynamics had a net margin of 7.93% and a return on equity of 17.10%. As a group, research analysts forecast that General Dynamics Co. will post 14.83 EPS for the current year.

General Dynamics Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Investors of record on Friday, April 11th will be paid a dividend of $1.50 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 11th. This is a positive change from General Dynamics’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.42. This represents a $6.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.43%. General Dynamics’s dividend payout ratio is presently 43.99%.

Insider Transactions at General Dynamics

In related news, Director Laura J. Schumacher sold 1,796 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $255.68, for a total value of $459,201.28. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 11,175 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,857,224. This trade represents a 13.85 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Marguerite Amy Gilliland sold 27,562 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $272.11, for a total value of $7,499,895.82. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 45,192 shares in the company, valued at $12,297,195.12. The trade was a 37.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 1.52% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On General Dynamics

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of General Dynamics by 3.1% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 23,780,078 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $6,265,813,000 after acquiring an additional 706,317 shares during the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors lifted its position in shares of General Dynamics by 7.4% during the fourth quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 6,734,148 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $1,774,381,000 after purchasing an additional 463,497 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of General Dynamics by 2.4% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 5,688,672 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $1,496,939,000 after purchasing an additional 131,268 shares during the period. Sanders Capital LLC grew its holdings in shares of General Dynamics by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. Sanders Capital LLC now owns 4,212,422 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $1,109,931,000 after purchasing an additional 33,962 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lifted its holdings in General Dynamics by 5.2% during the 4th quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 2,935,046 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $773,355,000 after buying an additional 145,978 shares in the last quarter. 86.14% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other 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.