In the latest close session, General Dynamics (GD) was up +2.21% at $350.72. The stock exceeded the S&P 500, which registered a loss of 0.54% for the day. Meanwhile, the Dow experienced a rise of 0.03%, and the technology-dominated Nasdaq saw a decrease of 1.18%.
Shares of the defense contractor witnessed a loss of 3.8% over the previous month, trailing the performance of the Aerospace sector with its gain of 1.03%, and the S&P 500's gain of 0.58%.
Market participants will be closely following the financial results of General Dynamics in its upcoming release. The company is predicted to post an EPS of $3.72, indicating a 1.64% growth compared to the equivalent quarter last year. Simultaneously, our latest consensus estimate expects the revenue to be $12.63 billion, showing a 3.32% escalation compared to the year-ago quarter.
For the annual period, the Zacks Consensus Estimates anticipate earnings of $16.57 per share and a revenue of $54.73 billion, signifying shifts of +7.18% and +4.14%, respectively, from the last year.
Investors might also notice recent changes to analyst estimates for General Dynamics. These recent revisions tend to reflect the evolving nature of short-term business trends. Consequently, upward revisions in estimates express analysts' positivity towards the business operations and its ability to generate profits.
Based on our research, we believe these estimate revisions are directly related to near-term stock moves. Investors can capitalize on this by using the Zacks Rank. This model considers these estimate changes and provides a simple, actionable rating system.
The Zacks Rank system, stretching from #1 (Strong Buy) to #5 (Strong Sell), has a noteworthy track record of outperforming, validated by third-party audits, with stocks rated #1 producing an average annual return of +25% since the year 1988. The Zacks Consensus EPS estimate has moved 5.35% lower within the past month. General Dynamics is holding a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold) right now.
With respect to valuation, General Dynamics is currently being traded at a Forward P/E ratio of 20.71. This represents a discount compared to its industry average Forward P/E of 25.36.
It's also important to note that GD currently trades at a PEG ratio of 2.01. 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. The Aerospace - Defense industry had an average PEG ratio of 2.01 as trading concluded yesterday.
The Aerospace - Defense industry is part of the Aerospace sector. This industry, currently bearing a Zacks Industry Rank of 81, finds itself in the top 34% echelons of all 250+ industries.
The Zacks Industry Rank assesses the vigor of our specific industry groups by computing the average Zacks Rank of the individual stocks incorporated in the groups. Our research shows that the top 50% rated industries outperform the bottom half by a factor of 2 to 1.
Remember to apply Zacks.com to follow these and more stock-moving metrics during the upcoming trading sessions.
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General Dynamics Corporation (GD): Free Stock Analysis ReportThis article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).
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