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General Dynamics (GD) Gains But Lags Market: What You Should Know

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General Dynamics (GD - Free Report) closed at $232.79 in the latest trading session, marking a +0.54% move from the prior day. The stock lagged the S&P 500's daily gain of 1.89%. Meanwhile, the Dow gained 1%, and the Nasdaq, a tech-heavy index, added 10%.

Coming into today, shares of the defense contractor had lost 6.1% in the past month. In that same time, the Aerospace sector lost 2.07%, while the S&P 500 gained 2.3%.

Investors will be hoping for strength from General Dynamics as it approaches its next earnings release, which is expected to be January 25, 2023. In that report, analysts expect General Dynamics to post earnings of $3.54 per share. This would mark year-over-year growth of 4.42%. Meanwhile, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for revenue is projecting net sales of $10.73 billion, up 4.25% from the year-ago period.

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. As a result, we can interpret positive estimate revisions as a good sign for the company's business outlook.

Research indicates that these estimate revisions are directly correlated with near-term share price momentum. 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 ranges from #1 (Strong Buy) to #5 (Strong Sell). It has a remarkable, outside-audited track record of success, with #1 stocks delivering an average annual return of +25% since 1988. Over the past month, the Zacks Consensus EPS estimate has moved 0.54% lower. General Dynamics is holding a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold) right now.

In terms of valuation, General Dynamics is currently trading at a Forward P/E ratio of 16.61. For comparison, its industry has an average Forward P/E of 16.61, which means General Dynamics is trading at a no noticeable deviation to the group.

Investors should also note that GD has a PEG ratio of 1.94 right now. This popular metric is similar to the widely-known P/E ratio, with the difference being that the PEG ratio also takes into account the company's expected earnings growth rate. GD's industry had an average PEG ratio of 1.97 as of yesterday's close.

The Aerospace - Defense industry is part of the Aerospace sector. This group has a Zacks Industry Rank of 155, putting it in the bottom 39% 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.

To follow GD in the coming trading sessions, be sure to utilize Zacks.com.


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