General Dynamics (GD) closed at $237.83 in the latest trading session, marking a +0.75% move from the prior day. This move lagged the S&P 500's daily gain of 1.13%. Elsewhere, the Dow gained 0.74%, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq added 0.87%.
Prior to today's trading, shares of the defense contractor had gained 9.38% over the past month. This has outpaced the Aerospace sector's gain of 6.6% and the S&P 500's gain of 2.65% in that time.
Investors will be hoping for strength from General Dynamics as it approaches its next earnings release. In that report, analysts expect General Dynamics to post earnings of $2.49 per share. This would mark year-over-year growth of 0.4%. Our most recent consensus estimate is calling for quarterly revenue of $8.98 billion, down 4.39% from the year-ago period.
Looking at the full year, our Zacks Consensus Estimates suggest analysts are expecting earnings of $12.12 per share and revenue of $39.39 billion. These totals would mark changes of +4.94% and +2.4%, respectively, from last year.
Any recent changes to analyst estimates for General Dynamics should also be noted by investors. These revisions help to show the ever-changing nature of near-term business trends. With this in mind, we can consider positive estimate revisions a sign of optimism about the company's business outlook.
Research indicates that these estimate revisions are directly correlated with near-term share price momentum. We developed the Zacks Rank to capitalize on this phenomenon. Our system takes these estimate changes into account and delivers a clear, actionable rating model.
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. The Zacks Consensus EPS estimate has moved 0.01% lower within the past month. General Dynamics is holding a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold) right now.
Investors should also note General Dynamics's current valuation metrics, including its Forward P/E ratio of 19.49. This represents a premium compared to its industry's average Forward P/E of 18.94.
It is also worth noting that GD currently has a PEG ratio of 2.02. The PEG ratio is similar to the widely-used P/E ratio, but this metric also takes the company's expected earnings growth rate into account. Aerospace - Defense stocks are, on average, holding a PEG ratio of 2.91 based on yesterday's closing prices.
The Aerospace - Defense industry is part of the Aerospace sector. This group has a Zacks Industry Rank of 103, putting it in the top 41% of all 250+ industries.
The Zacks Industry Rank includes is listed in order 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.
Make sure to utilize Zacks.com to follow all of these stock-moving metrics, and more, in the coming trading sessions.
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