General Dynamics (GD) closed at $251.62 in the latest trading session, marking a +0.95% move from the prior day. The stock outperformed the S&P 500, which registered a daily loss of 1.59%. On the other hand, the Dow registered a loss of 0.45%, and the technology-centric Nasdaq decreased by 2.78%.

Coming into today, shares of the defense contractor had lost 0.88% in the past month. In that same time, the Aerospace sector lost 4.24%, while the S&P 500 lost 2.23%.

The upcoming earnings release of General Dynamics will be of great interest to investors. The company's earnings per share (EPS) are projected to be $3.43, reflecting a 19.1% increase from the same quarter last year. Alongside, our most recent consensus estimate is anticipating revenue of $11.75 billion, indicating a 9.54% upward movement from the same quarter last year.

For the entire fiscal year, the Zacks Consensus Estimates are projecting earnings of $14.94 per share and a revenue of $50.36 billion, representing changes of +9.61% and +5.54%, respectively, from the prior year.

Any recent changes to analyst estimates for General Dynamics should also be noted by investors. These latest adjustments often mirror the shifting dynamics of short-term business patterns. As such, positive estimate revisions reflect analyst optimism about the company's business and profitability.

Our research shows that these estimate changes are directly correlated with near-term stock prices. To utilize this, we have created the Zacks Rank, a proprietary model that integrates these estimate changes and provides a functional rating system.

The Zacks Rank system, which varies between #1 (Strong Buy) and #5 (Strong Sell), carries an impressive track record of exceeding expectations, confirmed by external audits, with stocks at #1 delivering an average annual return of +25% since 1988. Over the past month, the Zacks Consensus EPS estimate has moved 6.83% lower. General Dynamics currently has a Zacks Rank of #4 (Sell).

Digging into valuation, General Dynamics currently has a Forward P/E ratio of 16.69. This indicates a discount in contrast to its industry's Forward P/E of 17.63.

We can additionally observe that GD currently boasts a PEG ratio of 1.7. This metric is used similarly to the famous P/E ratio, but the PEG ratio also takes into account the stock's expected earnings growth rate. The average PEG ratio for the Aerospace - Defense industry stood at 1.85 at the close of the market yesterday.

The Aerospace - Defense industry is part of the Aerospace sector. This industry currently has a Zacks Industry Rank of 85, which puts it in the top 34% 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.

Ensure to harness Zacks.com to stay updated with all these stock-shifting metrics, among others, in the next trading sessions.

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General Dynamics Corporation (GD) : Free Stock Analysis Report

This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).

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