General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) Sets New 12-Month High – Still a Buy?

General Dynamics Corporation (NYSE:GD)’s share price hit a new 52-week high during trading on Thursday . The company traded as high as $387.32 and last traded at $386.8720, with a volume of 115553 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $373.16.

More General Dynamics News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Analysts are becoming more optimistic ahead of General Dynamics’ upcoming earnings release, with expectations helped by strong submarine contract wins and broader earnings momentum. How Investors Are Reacting To General Dynamics (GD) Legal Succession And Submarine-Driven Earnings Optimism
• Positive Sentiment: General Dynamics continues to benefit from robust defense demand, which is supporting investor confidence in the company’s long-term revenue pipeline. General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) Gains Strength From Defense Demand
• Positive Sentiment: Shares have been trending upward over the past month and quarter, and one analysis suggested the stock may still be trading below fair value after the recent run. General Dynamics (GD) Could Be 7% Below Fair Value On Executive Transition
• Positive Sentiment: General Dynamics also benefited from broader defense-sector enthusiasm, as investors look for exposure to military spending and European rearmament trends. Europe Announced the Rearmament. America’s Defense Fund Cashed the Checks
• Neutral Sentiment: The company announced a planned legal leadership transition, with Greg Gallopoulos retiring at the end of 2026 and Nick Barnaby set to succeed him in 2027. The change appears orderly and has not raised major red flags so far. How Investors Are Reacting To General Dynamics (GD) Legal Succession And Submarine-Driven Earnings Optimism
• Neutral Sentiment: Peer-comparison and stock-rotation articles are drawing attention to General Dynamics versus Lockheed Martin, but these pieces are mostly valuation and relative-strength commentary rather than new company-specific catalysts. Lockheed Martin vs. General Dynamics: Which Stock is the Better Buy?
• Neutral Sentiment: Allison Transmission announced a supply deal tied to General Dynamics European Land Systems, which is supportive of the business but not clearly a major stock-moving development on its own. Allison Transmission to Supply Fully Automatic Transmissions to General Dynamics European Land Systems for EAGLE Series Vehicles for German Armed Forces

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have issued reports on the company. BNP Paribas Exane cut their target price on General Dynamics from $430.00 to $390.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of General Dynamics from $385.00 to $400.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of General Dynamics from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, June 13th. Bank of America boosted their target price on shares of General Dynamics from $400.00 to $415.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, July 6th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their price target on shares of General Dynamics from $387.00 to $377.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, General Dynamics presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $391.15.

General Dynamics Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24, a current ratio of 1.38 and a quick ratio of 0.90. The firm has a market capitalization of $104.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.29, a PEG ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 0.34. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $354.33 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $351.26.

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 29th. The aerospace company reported $4.10 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.67 by $0.43. General Dynamics had a net margin of 8.07% and a return on equity of 17.41%. The business had revenue of $13.48 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $12.70 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $3.66 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts expect that General Dynamics Corporation will post 16.66 EPS for the current year.

General Dynamics Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 7th. Investors of record on Thursday, July 2nd will be issued a $1.59 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 2nd. This represents a $6.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.6%. General Dynamics’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 40.03%.

Insider Buying and Selling at General Dynamics

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

Institutional Trading of General Dynamics

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Whipplewood Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of General Dynamics by 1,725.0% during the 1st quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC now owns 73 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 69 shares in the last quarter. Steph & Co. lifted its position in General Dynamics by 65.2% during the 4th quarter. Steph & Co. now owns 76 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 30 shares during the period. Scarborough Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of General Dynamics during the first quarter worth about $29,000. Wilkerson Advisory Group LLC grew its stake in shares of General Dynamics by 79.6% during the 1st quarter. Wilkerson Advisory Group LLC now owns 88 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 39 shares during the period. Finally, Center for Financial Planning Inc. boosted its holdings in General Dynamics by 220.7% during the fourth quarter. Center for Financial Planning Inc. now owns 93 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 64 shares in the last quarter. 86.14% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.