In the latest close session, General Dynamics (GD) was up +1.99% at $360.94. The stock outpaced the S&P 500's daily gain of 0.16%. Meanwhile, the Dow experienced a rise of 0.17%, and the technology-dominated Nasdaq saw an increase of 0.26%.
Prior to today's trading, shares of the defense contractor had gained 4.86% lagged the Aerospace sector's gain of 10.85% and outpaced the S&P 500's gain of 1.89%.
The upcoming earnings release of General Dynamics will be of great interest to investors. It is anticipated that the company will report an EPS of $4.12, marking a 0.72% fall compared to the same quarter of the previous year. At the same time, our most recent consensus estimate is projecting a revenue of $13.73 billion, reflecting a 2.92% rise from the equivalent quarter last year.
For the annual period, the Zacks Consensus Estimates anticipate earnings of $15.38 per share and a revenue of $51.97 billion, signifying shifts of +12.84% and 0%, respectively, from the last year.
Investors should also take note of any recent adjustments to analyst estimates for General Dynamics. Such recent modifications usually signify the changing landscape of near-term business trends. As such, positive estimate revisions reflect analyst optimism about the business and profitability.
Based on our research, we believe these estimate revisions are directly related to near-term stock moves. To exploit this, we've formed the Zacks Rank, a quantitative model that includes these estimate changes and presents a viable rating system.
The Zacks Rank system, ranging from #1 (Strong Buy) to #5 (Strong Sell), possesses a remarkable history of outdoing, externally audited, with #1 stocks returning an average annual gain of +25% since 1988. Over the past month, the Zacks Consensus EPS estimate has shifted 0.21% downward. General Dynamics currently has a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold).
Investors should also note General Dynamics's current valuation metrics, including its Forward P/E ratio of 20.59. This represents a discount compared to its industry average Forward P/E of 23.56.
It is also worth noting that GD currently has a PEG ratio of 1.56. Comparable to the widely accepted P/E ratio, the PEG ratio also accounts for the company's projected earnings growth. The Aerospace - Defense was holding an average PEG ratio of 1.87 at yesterday's closing price.
The Aerospace - Defense industry is part of the Aerospace sector. Currently, this industry holds a Zacks Industry Rank of 104, positioning it in the top 43% of all 250+ industries.
The Zacks Industry Rank evaluates the power of our distinct industry groups by determining the average Zacks Rank of the individual stocks forming the groups. 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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This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).
The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.
