4-Star Stocks Poised to Pop: General Dynamics (GD)

4-Star Stocks Poised to Pop: General Dynamics

Based on the aggregated intelligence of 180,000-plus investors participating in Motley Fool CAPS, the Fool's free investing community, defense contractor General Dynamics (NYSE: GD ) has earned a respected four-star ranking.

With that in mind, let's take a closer look at General Dynamics' business and see what CAPS investors are saying about the stock right now.

General Dynamics facts

Headquarters (Founded)	Falls Church, Va. (1899)
Market Cap	$25.7 billion
Industry	Aerospace and defense
Trailing-12-Month Revenue	$32.1 billion
Management	Chairman/CEO Jay Johnson CFO L. Hugh Redd
Return on Equity (Average, Past 3 Years)	20%
Cash/Debt	$1.5 billion / $4.1 billion
Dividend Yield	2.6%
Competitors	Boeing Lockheed Martin Northrop Grumman

Sources: S&P Capital IQ and Motley Fool CAPS.

On CAPS, 95% of the 1,357 members who have rated General Dynamics believe the stock will outperform the S&P 500 going forward.

Just last month, one of those Fools, market8, tapped the stock as a solid way to play defense:

My recommendation for a stable cash company would be General Dynamics, which is getting negative press related to politics, but has solid long-term appeal. ... I am not worried about the political hammer on defense, albeit a negative at the margin. The growth rate will remain positive even if the slope flattens out on budget cutbacks. With this company you get very stable cash flows, but my favorite part of the company is the upside the Gulfstream brand provides. Time is a critical resource for the super wealthy and business jets should have strong global demand going forward as the rising elite seek to maximize the one resource they can't buy more of.

What do you think about General Dynamics, or any other stock for that matter? If you want to retire rich, you need to put together the best portfolio you can. Owning exceptional stocks is a surefire way to secure your financial future, and on Motley Fool CAPS, thousands of investors are working every day to find them. CAPS is 100% free, so get started!

Want to see how well (or not so well) the stocks in this series are performing? Follow the new TrackPoisedTo CAPS account.

The Steve Jobs Betrayal
You may already know that in the final year of his life, Jobs revealed a stunning betrayal — and told his biographer, "I will spend my last dying breath... and every penny of Apple's $40 billion in the bank to right this wrong." What was it that made Jobs so irate — and why could it make a few in-the-know investors some major profits over the coming months and years?

Enter your email address below to find out what made Jobs so enraged!

Fool contributor Brian Pacampara owns no position in any of the companies mentioned. The Fool owns shares of General Dynamics, Lockheed, and Northrop. Try any of our Foolish newsletter services free for 30 days.

We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Fool's disclosure policy always gets a perfect score.

Comments from our Foolish Readers

Help us keep this a respectfully Foolish area! This is a place for our readers to discuss, debate, and learn more about the Foolish investing topic you read about above. Help us keep it clean and safe. If you believe a comment is abusive or otherwise violates our Fool's Rules, please report it via the Report this Comment icon found on every comment.