General Dynamics (GD) Increases Yet Falls Behind Market: What Investors Need to Know
General Dynamics (GD) closed at $273.70 in the latest trading session, marking a +0.04% move from the prior day. The stock lagged the S&P 500's daily gain of 0.51%. On the other hand, the Dow registered a gain of 0.2%, and the technology-centric Nasdaq increased by 0.58%.
The the stock of defense contractor has risen by 2.21% in the past month, leading the Aerospace sector's gain of 2.07% and undershooting the S&P 500's gain of 2.94%.
The upcoming earnings release of General Dynamics will be of great interest to investors. The company is expected to report EPS of $3.15, up 19.32% from the prior-year quarter. Meanwhile, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for revenue is projecting net sales of $10.75 billion, up 8.76% from the year-ago period.
Regarding the entire year, the Zacks Consensus Estimates forecast earnings of $14.64 per share and revenue of $46.11 billion, indicating changes of +21.8% and +9.08%, respectively, compared to the previous year.
Investors might also notice recent changes to analyst estimates for General Dynamics. These revisions typically reflect the latest short-term business trends, which can change frequently. As a result, upbeat changes in estimates indicate analysts' favorable outlook on the company's business health and profitability.
Our research suggests that these changes in estimates have a direct relationship with upcoming stock price performance. Investors can capitalize on this by using the Zacks Rank. This model considers these estimate changes and provides a simple, actionable rating system.
Ranging from #1 (Strong Buy) to #5 (Strong Sell), the Zacks Rank system has a proven, outside-audited track record of outperformance, with #1 stocks returning an average of +25% annually since 1988. Over the past month, the Zacks Consensus EPS estimate has shifted 0.28% upward. General Dynamics is holding a Zacks Rank of #4 (Sell) right now.
Investors should also note General Dynamics's current valuation metrics, including its Forward P/E ratio of 18.69. Its industry sports an average Forward P/E of 17.81, so one might conclude that General Dynamics is trading at a premium comparatively.
We can additionally observe that GD currently boasts a PEG ratio of 1.74. Comparable to the widely accepted P/E ratio, the PEG ratio also accounts for the company's projected earnings growth. The average PEG ratio for the Aerospace - Defense industry stood at 1.89 at the close of the market yesterday.
The Aerospace - Defense industry is part of the Aerospace sector. With its current Zacks Industry Rank of 85, this industry ranks in the top 34% of all industries, numbering over 250.
The Zacks Industry Rank is ordered from best to worst in terms of the average Zacks Rank of the individual companies within each of these sectors. Our research shows that the top 50% rated industries outperform the bottom half by a factor of 2 to 1.
You can find more information on all of these metrics, and much more, on Zacks.com.
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General Dynamics Corporation (GD) : Free Stock Analysis Report
