Bank of America Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) Stock

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) had its target price lifted by Bank of America from $400.00 to $415.00 in a report released on Monday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a “buy” rating on the aerospace company’s stock. Bank of America‘s price target would indicate a potential upside of 11.16% from the company’s previous close.

GD has been the topic of several other research reports. BNP Paribas Exane reduced their price target on General Dynamics from $430.00 to $390.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of General Dynamics from $410.00 to $435.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of General Dynamics from $385.00 to $400.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and set a $385.00 price target on shares of General Dynamics in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upgraded General Dynamics from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $380.00 to $400.00 in a research report on Thursday, June 11th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, General Dynamics currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $389.15.

General Dynamics Stock Performance

Shares of GD stock opened at $373.34 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 1.38, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24. General Dynamics has a 12-month low of $292.34 and a 12-month high of $373.60. The business’s 50 day moving average is $344.97 and its two-hundred day moving average is $348.40. The company has a market capitalization of $100.96 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.50, a P/E/G ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 0.34.

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The aerospace company reported $4.10 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.67 by $0.43. The business had revenue of $13.48 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $12.70 billion. General Dynamics had a return on equity of 17.41% and a net margin of 8.07%.The business’s quarterly revenue was up 10.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $3.66 EPS. Analysts expect that General Dynamics will post 16.63 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Mark Lagrand Burns sold 36,480 shares of General Dynamics stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $345.29, for a total value of $12,596,179.20. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 38,975 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,457,677.75. This trade represents a 48.35% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Mark Malcolm sold 5,480 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $365.00, for a total value of $2,000,200.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 10,643 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,884,695. This represents a 33.99% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 78,190 shares of company stock worth $27,041,022 over the last three months. Insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. KERR FINANCIAL PLANNING Corp acquired a new stake in General Dynamics during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $25,000. Dagco Inc. acquired a new position in shares of General Dynamics in the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of General Dynamics by 1,725.0% during the first quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC now owns 73 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 69 shares during the period. Burkett Financial Services LLC increased its position 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 worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 65 shares during the period. Finally, Steph & Co. raised its stake in shares of General Dynamics by 65.2% in the fourth quarter. Steph & Co. now owns 76 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 30 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.14% of the company’s stock.

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.