Wells Fargo & Company Issues Pessimistic Forecast for General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) Stock Price

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) had its target price lowered by equities research analysts at Wells Fargo & Company from $322.00 to $295.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has an “equal weight” rating on the aerospace company’s stock. Wells Fargo & Company‘s target price would suggest a potential upside of 10.92% from the company’s current price.

Several other research firms have also weighed in on GD. Sanford C. Bernstein dropped their price objective on shares of General Dynamics from $343.00 to $331.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on shares of General Dynamics from $320.00 to $330.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Susquehanna increased their price target on General Dynamics from $333.00 to $352.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Seaport Res Ptn cut General Dynamics from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, October 11th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their target price on General Dynamics from $309.00 to $306.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $322.00.

General Dynamics Stock Down 1.7 %

Shares of GD traded down $4.47 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $265.96. 371,049 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,122,024. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $294.78 and a two-hundred day moving average of $294.60. 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 $73.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.26, a P/E/G ratio of 1.67 and a beta of 0.59.

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) last released its earnings results 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). General Dynamics had a net margin of 7.90% and a return on equity of 16.59%. The company had revenue of $11.67 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $11.65 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $3.04 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 10.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that General Dynamics will post 13.87 earnings per share for the current year.

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Peter A. Wall sold 1,320 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, September 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $308.05, for a total transaction of $406,626.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 3,592 shares in the company, valued at $1,106,515.60. The trade was a 26.87 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, VP Christopher J. Brady sold 5,540 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $280.91, for a total value of $1,556,241.40. Following the completion of the transaction, 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 1.52% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On General Dynamics

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in GD. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of General Dynamics by 241.7% in the 3rd quarter. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 82 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 58 shares during the period. Hara Capital LLC bought a new stake in General Dynamics in the third quarter worth approximately $26,000. American Capital Advisory LLC acquired a new position in General Dynamics in the second quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Lowe Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of General Dynamics in the 3rd quarter valued at $30,000. Finally, Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in General Dynamics by 120.0% during the second quarter. Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC now owns 110 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 60 shares in the last quarter. 86.14% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.