General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD) Sees Significant Increase in Short Interest

General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD) was the target of a large increase in short interest in the month of December. As of December 15th, there was short interest totalling 3,500,000 shares, an increase of 5.7% from the November 30th total of 3,310,000 shares. Currently, 1.3% of the shares of the company are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 1,350,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.6 days.

General Dynamics Stock Up 0.0 %

Shares of GD opened at $263.49 on Thursday. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $281.97 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $290.83. 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 company has a market capitalization of $72.45 billion, a PE ratio of 20.07, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 0.59. General Dynamics has a 52-week low of $247.36 and a 52-week high of $316.90.

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The aerospace company reported $3.35 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.48 by ($0.13). The firm had revenue of $11.67 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $11.65 billion. General Dynamics had a return on equity of 16.59% and a net margin of 7.90%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 10.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $3.04 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that General Dynamics will post 13.87 EPS for the current year.

General Dynamics announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase plan on Wednesday, December 4th that authorizes the company to buyback 10,000,000 shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the aerospace company to repurchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are typically an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

General Dynamics Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 7th. Investors of record on Friday, January 17th will be given a dividend of $1.42 per share. This represents a $5.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.16%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 17th. General Dynamics’s payout ratio is 43.26%.

Insider Buying and Selling at General Dynamics

In other General Dynamics news, VP Christopher J. Brady sold 5,540 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $280.91, for a total value of $1,556,241.40. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 20,296 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,701,349.36. This represents a 21.44 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Company insiders own 1.52% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of General Dynamics

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Coston McIsaac & Partners lifted its holdings in General Dynamics by 22.8% during the 3rd quarter. Coston McIsaac & Partners now owns 178 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $53,000 after buying an additional 33 shares in the last quarter. Global X Japan Co. Ltd. increased its position in shares of General Dynamics by 2.3% during the third quarter. Global X Japan Co. Ltd. now owns 1,482 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $448,000 after acquiring an additional 33 shares during the period. Grove Bank & Trust raised its stake in shares of General Dynamics by 10.6% in the third quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 354 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $107,000 after acquiring an additional 34 shares in the last quarter. Trueblood Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in General Dynamics by 1.6% in the third quarter. Trueblood Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,223 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $672,000 after purchasing an additional 34 shares during the period. Finally, Rathbones Group PLC grew its stake in General Dynamics by 1.8% during the 2nd quarter. Rathbones Group PLC now owns 2,022 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $587,000 after purchasing an additional 35 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.14% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on GD. Seaport Res Ptn downgraded shares of General Dynamics from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, October 11th. Susquehanna lifted 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. Sanford C. Bernstein dropped their price objective on General Dynamics from $343.00 to $331.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Citigroup upped their target price on General Dynamics from $331.00 to $354.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada cut shares of General Dynamics from an “outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating and dropped their price target for the company from $330.00 to $290.00 in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, General Dynamics has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $314.88.

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.