General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) Shares Gap Down – What’s Next?

Shares of General Dynamics Corporation (NYSE:GD) gapped down prior to trading on Wednesday . The stock had previously closed at $366.62, but opened at $351.79. General Dynamics shares last traded at $356.8470, with a volume of 729,675 shares trading hands.

General Dynamics News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting General Dynamics this week:

• Positive Sentiment: EPS and revenue beat consensus, showing year‑over‑year growth in the quarter and margin/ROE remain healthy; this supports earnings durability. General Dynamics (GD) Q4 Earnings and Revenues Top Estimates
• Positive Sentiment: Marine Systems and Combat Systems were key growth drivers, giving revenue upside and supporting defense backlog visibility. Strong Marine Systems Performance Drives GD’s Q4 Earnings and Revenues
• Positive Sentiment: Backlog rose to ~$118B with orders of $22.4B and a book‑to‑bill of ~1.6x, indicating strong forward revenue visibility and program demand. Defense Giant General Dynamics Absorbs $41 Million Tariff Blow, Backlog Hits $118 Billion
• Positive Sentiment: Won a major U.S. Navy contract as defense spending ramps — a catalyst for future revenue and cash flow. General Dynamics Secures Major Navy Contract
• Neutral Sentiment: Analysts and previews highlighted higher Gulfstream deliveries and submarine work but flagged supply‑chain headwinds — watch guidance/comments from the call for near‑term outlook. General Dynamics to Post Q4 Earnings: Here’s What to Expect
• Neutral Sentiment: Quarterly metrics vs. estimates show modest beats; investors will focus on full‑year guidance and order momentum for conviction. General Dynamics (GD) Q4 Earnings: Taking a Look at Key Metrics Versus Estimates
• Negative Sentiment: Management disclosed a $41M tariff hit—an immediate profit drag—and capex rose ~27% for the year; these factors can pressure near‑term free cash flow and margins. Defense Giant General Dynamics Absorbs $41 Million Tariff Blow, Backlog Hits $118 Billion
• Negative Sentiment: Supply‑chain and cost pressures were noted as potential profit headwinds; if sustained, they could limit margin expansion despite revenue growth. General Dynamics Revenue Boosted by Marine Systems, Defense

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

GD has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Bank of America increased their price objective on General Dynamics from $370.00 to $400.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 28th. Robert W. Baird set a $390.00 price target on shares of General Dynamics in a research note on Monday, October 27th. Melius Research upgraded shares of General Dynamics to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 28th. BNP Paribas Exane lifted their target price on shares of General Dynamics from $410.00 to $420.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 8th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on General Dynamics from $280.00 to $293.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a report on Friday, October 10th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have issued a Buy rating, ten have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, General Dynamics currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $366.70.

General Dynamics Stock Performance

The firm has a market cap of $96.40 billion, a PE ratio of 23.11, a PEG ratio of 1.80 and a beta of 0.41. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $347.09 and a 200 day simple moving average of $334.16. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 1.40 and a quick ratio of 0.87.

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, January 28th. The aerospace company reported $4.17 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.11 by $0.06. General Dynamics had a net margin of 8.18% and a return on equity of 18.27%. The company had revenue of $14.38 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $13.77 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $4.15 EPS. General Dynamics’s quarterly revenue was up 7.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts forecast that General Dynamics Corporation will post 14.83 EPS for the current year.

General Dynamics Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 6th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 16th will be paid a $1.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 16th. This represents a $6.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.7%. General Dynamics’s payout ratio is presently 38.89%.

Insider Transactions at General Dynamics

In other General Dynamics news, VP David Paddock sold 20,360 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $334.92, for a total transaction of $6,818,971.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president owned 36,644 shares in the company, valued at $12,272,808.48. This trade represents a 35.72% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 1.50% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of General Dynamics

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in General Dynamics by 2.9% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 24,238,561 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $8,265,349,000 after acquiring an additional 677,665 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in shares of General Dynamics by 1.1% in the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 11,140,437 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $3,249,220,000 after purchasing an additional 119,664 shares during the period. Ameriprise Financial Inc. increased its holdings in General Dynamics by 5.4% during the 3rd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 3,627,155 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $1,236,900,000 after purchasing an additional 187,435 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp raised 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 valued at $1,136,525,000 after purchasing an additional 863,392 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of General Dynamics by 0.4% in the 2nd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 2,385,573 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $695,776,000 after buying an additional 9,283 shares during the period. 86.14% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.