General Dynamics Corporation (NYSE:GD) Short Interest Down 14.4% in January

General Dynamics Corporation (NYSE:GD) was the target of a significant drop in short interest during the month of January. As of January 30th, there was short interest totaling 2,540,631 shares, a drop of 14.4% from the January 15th total of 2,969,122 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 1,576,356 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 1.6 days. Approximately 1.0% of the shares of the company are short sold. Approximately 1.0% of the shares of the company are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 1,576,356 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 1.6 days.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have issued reports on GD. Citigroup increased their target price on General Dynamics from $371.00 to $389.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 13th. Susquehanna reissued a “positive” rating and set a $420.00 price objective on shares of General Dynamics in a report on Thursday, January 15th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on General Dynamics from $360.00 to $385.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday, February 1st. Wolfe Research increased their price target on shares of General Dynamics from $400.00 to $415.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, January 12th. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of General Dynamics from $408.00 to $410.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have given a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, General Dynamics presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $375.47.

Insider Activity

In other General Dynamics news, VP Mark Rayha sold 4,370 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $348.79, for a total transaction of $1,524,212.30. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president directly owned 7,936 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,767,997.44. This represents a 35.51% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, VP David Paddock sold 20,360 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $334.92, for a total value of $6,818,971.20. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president directly owned 36,644 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,272,808.48. This represents a 35.72% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders own 1.50% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of General Dynamics

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of GD. Dunhill Financial LLC raised its stake in shares of General Dynamics by 620.0% during the third quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 72 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 62 shares in the last quarter. KERR FINANCIAL PLANNING Corp purchased a new position in General Dynamics in the 3rd quarter worth $25,000. Dagco Inc. bought a new stake in General Dynamics in the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in General Dynamics during the third quarter valued at about $26,000. Finally, Burkett Financial Services LLC grew its stake in shares of General Dynamics by 650.0% during the third quarter. Burkett Financial Services LLC now owns 75 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 65 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 86.14% of the company’s stock.

General Dynamics Price Performance

GD traded up $6.20 on Wednesday, reaching $348.72. The company had a trading volume of 791,873 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,535,316. General Dynamics has a 52-week low of $239.20 and a 52-week high of $369.70. The company has a market cap of $94.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.57, a P/E/G ratio of 2.08 and a beta of 0.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a current ratio of 1.44. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $350.89 and a 200 day simple moving average of $338.83.

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 28th. The aerospace company reported $4.17 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.11 by $0.06. General Dynamics had a net margin of 8.01% and a return on equity of 17.57%. The firm had revenue of $14.38 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $13.77 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $4.15 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.8% compared to the same quarter last year. General Dynamics has set its FY 2026 guidance at 16.100-16.200 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that General Dynamics will post 14.83 EPS for the current year.

General Dynamics Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 6th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 16th were issued a $1.50 dividend. This represents a $6.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.7%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 16th. General Dynamics’s dividend payout ratio is presently 38.83%.

About General Dynamics

General Dynamics is a major American aerospace and defense contractor that designs, manufactures and supports a broad range of products and services for government and commercial customers worldwide. Headquartered in the United States (Reston, Virginia), the company supplies platforms and systems used by armed forces, civil authorities and private operators across multiple domains including air, land, sea and cyber.

Its principal activities span several operating businesses: a business aviation unit that develops and supports Gulfstream business jets; land systems that produce armored combat vehicles and related logistics and sustainment services; marine systems that design and construct submarines and surface ships for navies; and mission systems and information technology operations that provide command-and-control, communications, cybersecurity and systems-integration services.