Short Interest in General Dynamics Corporation (NYSE:GD) Grows By 22.7%

General Dynamics Corporation (NYSE:GD) was the target of a significant increase in short interest during the month of December. As of December 31st, there was short interest totaling 3,074,688 shares, an increase of 22.7% from the December 15th total of 2,505,676 shares. Currently, 1.2% of the company’s shares are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 983,495 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 3.1 days. Based on an average daily volume of 983,495 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 3.1 days. Currently, 1.2% of the company’s shares are sold short.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently weighed in on GD shares. BNP Paribas raised shares of General Dynamics to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 18th. Bank of America raised their price objective on General Dynamics from $370.00 to $400.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 28th. Argus upped their target price on General Dynamics from $345.00 to $380.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 19th. TD Cowen raised their price target on General Dynamics from $370.00 to $390.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 14th. Finally, Vertical Research upgraded General Dynamics from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $400.00 price objective for the company in a report on Monday, October 27th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Buy rating, ten have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $366.70.

General Dynamics Stock Down 1.3%

GD stock traded down $4.95 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $362.43. 532,140 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,564,993. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $344.87 and a 200 day simple moving average of $331.40. General Dynamics has a 12 month low of $239.20 and a 12 month high of $369.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 0.87 and a current ratio of 1.40. The company has a market capitalization of $97.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.50, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 0.41.

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, October 24th. The aerospace company reported $3.88 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.69 by $0.19. General Dynamics had a net margin of 8.18% and a return on equity of 18.27%. The business had revenue of $12.91 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $12.49 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $3.35 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 10.6% on a year-over-year basis. General Dynamics has set its FY 2025 guidance at 15.300-15.35 EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that General Dynamics will post 14.83 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

General Dynamics Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 6th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 16th will be issued a dividend of $1.50 per share. This represents a $6.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.7%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 16th. General Dynamics’s dividend payout ratio is currently 38.89%.

Insider Activity

In other news, VP David Paddock sold 20,360 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $334.92, for a total transaction of $6,818,971.20. Following the transaction, the vice president owned 36,644 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $12,272,808.48. This represents a 35.72% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 1.50% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in GD. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of General Dynamics by 118.3% during the third quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 1,663,847 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $567,372,000 after acquiring an additional 901,679 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp grew its position in General Dynamics by 35.0% during the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 3,332,917 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $1,136,525,000 after purchasing an additional 863,392 shares during the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. increased its stake in General Dynamics by 3,306.5% during the 3rd quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 871,052 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $297,029,000 after purchasing an additional 845,482 shares in the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. raised its holdings in shares of General Dynamics by 25.2% in the second quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 3,439,720 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $1,003,444,000 after buying an additional 691,340 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of General Dynamics by 2.9% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 24,238,561 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $8,265,349,000 after buying an additional 677,665 shares during the last quarter. 86.14% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

General Dynamics Company Profile

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.