TLDR
- GD hit a new 52-week high of $387.32, closing at $386.87, up 3.8% on the day
- Last quarter EPS came in at $4.10, beating the $3.67 estimate; revenue of $13.48B topped forecasts
- Jefferies raised its price target to $440 and upgraded GD to Buy, citing marine division strength
- Consensus analyst rating is “Moderate Buy” with an average price target of $391.15
- General Dynamics Land Systems secured a $209M contract modification for the Abrams Engineering program
General Dynamics (GD) stock hit a new 52-week high on Thursday, touching $387.32 before closing at $386.87 — a gain of 3.8% on the day. The stock’s prior close was $373.16.
General Dynamics Corporation, GD
The move comes as investor interest in defense names has picked up, with GD riding a combination of strong earnings, new contracts, and upbeat analyst coverage.
Last quarter, GD reported EPS of $4.10, beating the consensus estimate of $3.67 by $0.43. Revenue came in at $13.48 billion, ahead of analyst expectations of $12.70 billion — a 10.3% increase year over year.
Analysts expect full-year EPS of $16.66 for the current fiscal year. The stock trades at a P/E of 24.29 with a market cap of $104.73 billion.
Jefferies recently raised its price target to $440 from $400, keeping a Buy rating. Analyst Sheila Kahyaoglu projected Q2 EPS of $3.98, slightly above the $3.95 consensus. The firm had previously upgraded GD to Buy from Hold, pointing to strength in the marine division and favorable aircraft mix in the aerospace segment.
Morgan Stanley lifted its target to $435 with an Overweight rating. Bank of America sits at $415 with a Buy. Goldman Sachs remains the outlier, with a Sell rating and a $313 target.
Analyst Ratings and Price Targets
The consensus sits at “Moderate Buy” with an average price target of $391.15. Two analysts rate it Strong Buy, 13 have it at Buy, five at Hold, and one at Sell.
The 50-day moving average stands at $354.33, and the 200-day is at $351.26 — both well below the current price.
Wall Street Zen upgraded GD to Strong Buy in June. Deutsche Bank holds a Hold rating with a $377 target.
Contracts and Dividend
On the contract front, General Dynamics Land Systems picked up a $209 million modification to its Abrams Engineering program contract with the U.S. Department of War, bringing the total contract value to nearly $850 million.
Allison Transmission also announced a supply deal with General Dynamics European Land Systems for the EAGLE Series vehicles being built for the German Armed Forces.
GD declared a quarterly dividend of $1.59 per share, payable August 7th. That works out to $6.36 annualized and a yield of approximately 1.6%. The company has raised its dividend for 12 consecutive years.
The dividend payout ratio stands at 40.03%, and return on equity came in at 17.41% last quarter.
Institutional investors hold 86.14% of the stock. Insiders, by contrast, have been selling — EVP Mark Lagrand Burns sold 36,480 shares in May at an average of $345.29, and Director Mark Malcolm sold 5,480 shares in June at $365.00. Insiders now own 1.40% of the company.
On the leadership front, General Counsel Greg Gallopoulos is set to retire at the end of 2026, with Nick Barnaby stepping into the role in 2027. The transition has been described as orderly with no material concerns raised by investors.
Options activity has been elevated, with 3,761 contracts traded recently, skewed toward calls.
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