General Dynamics (GD - NYSE)

Jim2007

Anyone looking at this one? I originally bought this one in the mid 90s at prices of $5 - $12, but due to work rules I had to divest in 2007 at ~$80, so it did very well for me. Now with a new employer, I have the possibility to get back in, so I'm having another look.

One thing that really attracts me to GD is the consistency of it's figures over the years, here is my initial SSG on the company: SSG

There is still along way to go before I make a decision, but I'd appreciate hearing from others on the subject.

Jim.

MrMatisse

Great to see a serious analysis of a major company in the forum again.

Jim2007

Well, I've added a little bit more to my analysis:

- A quick projection for Raytheon and Northrop Grumman
- A comparison of the three

You'll find the SSG and Comparison file here.

While the comparison is not conclusive, I still feel GD to be the better option as it's figures are very consistent, make projections over the coming 5 years that bit easier.

A good introduction to the Aerospace and Defense can be found on the Valueline site.

Raskolnikov

Jim2007 wrote: »

Well, I've added a little bit more to my analysis:

- A quick projection for Raytheon and Northrop Grumman
- A comparison of the three

You'll find the SSG and Comparison file here.

While the comparison is not conclusive, I still feel GD to be the better option as it's figures are very consistent, make projections over the coming 5 years that bit easier.

A good introduction to the Aerospace and Defense can be found on the Valueline site.

92% of Northrop Grumman sales come from the United States government. The figure is 72% for General Dynamics. Considering that these two companies are trading at about the same price, you would have to favour General Dynamics, assuming that Northrop don't have some sort of untapped future earnings power.

Have you looked at Lockheed Martin? From what I can see, they are priced almost as cheaply as General Dynamics, however the market is completely discounting future revenues from the Joint Strike Fighter program (the largest contract ever awarded by the US DoD).

Jim2007

Raskolnikov wrote: »

92% of Northrop Grumman sales come from the United States government. The figure is 72% for General Dynamics. Considering that these two companies are trading at about the same price, you would have to favour General Dynamics, assuming that Northrop don't have some sort of untapped future earnings power.

Considering that this is a cyclical industry, I prise consistency in the figures very highly.

Raskolnikov wrote: »

Have you looked at Lockheed Martin? From what I can see, they are priced almost as cheaply as General Dynamics, however the market is completely discounting future revenues from the Joint Strike Fighter program (the largest contract ever awarded by the US DoD).

I have not had a chance to look at that one yet. I've kinda been distracted by your recent suggestion: Investing In Great Companies

Jim

xertpo

Interesting article from seeking alpha

http://seekingalpha.com/article/274919-general-dynamics-quality-dividend-stock-at-a-low-price

Jim2007

Thanks for the pointer, I've not had any time this week to work on my own portfolio...

Jim.

ROK ON

I run a variety of value, quality and balance sheet strength screens. For the past few months GD has kept coming up in the top quartile of names across these screens.
Must have a proper investigation.

Cute Hoor

Some good news from GD today

General Dynamics Awarded Air Force Airborne Imagery Task Order

Last update: 6/22/2011 10:00:00 AM

FAIRFAX, Va., June 22, 2011 /PRNewswire via COMTEX/ -- General Dynamics Advanced Information Systems has been awarded a $4.7 million task order to provide airborne advanced geospatial intelligence (AGI) battlespace awareness support to the U.S. Air Force's National Air and Space Intelligence Center (NASIC). This task order was awarded through a five-year, indefinite delivery/indefinite quantity (IDIQ) Advanced Technical Exploitation Program (ATEP) contract awarded in 2009. General Dynamics Advanced Information Systems is a business unit of General Dynamics (GD).

Under this task order, General Dynamics will directly support national priorities, including overseas operations and missile defense, by providing hyper-spectral and multi-spectral imagery production and analysis, data processing and analysis, analytic support, publishing and distribution, and training.

"Our team brings a proven track record of providing analysis of hyperspectral and multispectral imagery by subject matter experts with deep mission knowledge," said Lou Von Thaer, president, General Dynamics Advanced Information Systems. "The breadth of our team's experience in geospatial, advanced sensor and exploitation technologies uniquely positions us to deliver support to NASIC's mission, a role we have played since 2001."

NASIC serves as the national and U.S. Department of Defense executive agent for the processing, exploitation, analysis, integration and dissemination of measurement and signature intelligence (MASINT) data collected from radar, electro-optical and infrared technical sensors. It prepares signatures of threat targets, develops analytical tools for technical analysis and provides these techniques for the fusion of MASINT data in direct support of operational missions of the Department of Defense and mission partners throughout the Intelligence Community. General Dynamics has been serving NASIC as a prime contractor since 2001.

The majority of work will be performed in Dayton, Ohio.