General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) Given New $300.00 Price Target at Susquehanna

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) had its price objective cut by investment analysts at Susquehanna from $315.00 to $300.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a “positive” rating on the aerospace company’s stock. Susquehanna’s price objective suggests a potential upside of 17.76% from the stock’s previous close.

Several other equities analysts have also recently commented on the stock. Baird R W cut shares of General Dynamics from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Royal Bank of Canada cut General Dynamics from an “outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating and lowered their target price for the stock from $330.00 to $290.00 in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Sanford C. Bernstein reduced their price target on General Dynamics from $343.00 to $331.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Robert W. Baird reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $283.00 price objective (down from $345.00) on shares of General Dynamics in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Finally, Wolfe Research downgraded shares of General Dynamics from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $302.65.

General Dynamics Trading Up 1.3 %

General Dynamics stock traded up $3.30 during trading on Thursday, hitting $254.75. The company had a trading volume of 205,676 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,656,196. 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 company’s 50 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. The stock has a market cap of $70.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.40, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 0.61.

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

General Dynamics announced that its board has approved a share repurchase plan on Wednesday, December 4th that allows the company to repurchase 10,000,000 shares. This repurchase authorization allows the aerospace company to buy shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are typically an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other General Dynamics news, VP Christopher J. Brady sold 5,540 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $280.91, for a total transaction of $1,556,241.40. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 20,296 shares in the company, valued at approximately $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 can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 1.52% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of General Dynamics

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of GD. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in General Dynamics by 241.7% in the 3rd quarter. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 82 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 58 shares in the last quarter. Hara Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of General Dynamics during the third quarter valued at $26,000. Financial Life Planners purchased a new stake in General Dynamics during the 4th quarter worth about $25,000. Lowe Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in General Dynamics in the 3rd quarter valued at about $30,000. Finally, Heck Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in General Dynamics in the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. 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.