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General Dynamics (GD) Increases Yet Falls Behind Market: What Investors Need to Know

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In the latest trading session, General Dynamics (GD - Free Report) closed at $302.40, marking a +0.28% move from the previous day. The stock's performance was behind the S&P 500's daily gain of 0.45%. Meanwhile, the Dow experienced a drop of 0.23%, and the technology-dominated Nasdaq saw an increase of 0.84%.

Prior to today's trading, shares of the defense contractor had gained 3.56% over the past month. This has outpaced the Aerospace sector's gain of 3.55% and the S&P 500's gain of 2.54% in that time.

The investment community will be paying close attention to the earnings performance of General Dynamics in its upcoming release. The company is predicted to post an EPS of $3.76, indicating a 23.68% growth compared to the equivalent quarter last year. Simultaneously, our latest consensus estimate expects the revenue to be $12.2 billion, showing a 15.45% escalation compared to the year-ago quarter.

Looking at the full year, the Zacks Consensus Estimates suggest analysts are expecting earnings of $14.52 per share and revenue of $47.96 billion. These totals would mark changes of +20.8% and +13.47%, respectively, from last year.

It is also important to note the recent changes to analyst estimates for General Dynamics. These revisions help to show the ever-changing nature of near-term business trends. As such, positive estimate revisions reflect analyst optimism about the company's business and profitability.

Our research reveals that these estimate alterations are directly linked with the stock price performance in the near future. To benefit from this, we have developed the Zacks Rank, a proprietary model which takes these estimate changes into account and provides an actionable rating system.

The Zacks Rank system, spanning from #1 (Strong Buy) to #5 (Strong Sell), boasts an impressive track record of outperformance, audited externally, with #1 ranked stocks yielding an average annual return of +25% since 1988. Over the last 30 days, the Zacks Consensus EPS estimate has remained unchanged. General Dynamics is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold).

Investors should also note General Dynamics's current valuation metrics, including its Forward P/E ratio of 20.77. This indicates a discount in contrast to its industry's Forward P/E of 20.85.

One should further note that GD currently holds a PEG ratio of 1.65. The PEG ratio is akin to the commonly utilized P/E ratio, but this measure also incorporates the company's anticipated earnings growth rate. GD's industry had an average PEG ratio of 1.84 as of yesterday's close.

The Aerospace - Defense industry is part of the Aerospace sector. This group has a Zacks Industry Rank of 28, putting it in the top 12% of all 250+ industries.

The strength of our individual industry groups is measured by the Zacks Industry Rank, which is calculated based on the average Zacks Rank of the individual stocks within these groups. 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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