Stifel raised its price target on General Dynamics Corp. (NYSE: GD) to $173.00 (from $166.00) while maintaining a Hold rating following the company's 4Q earnings report. Management indicated that order activity was "good" in the quarter with "increasing velocity" in 2H16/early 2017 and that backlogs remain solid.

Analyst Joseph DeNardi commented, "General Dynamics (GD) posted better than expected EPS results of $2.62, above our $2.60 estimate and consensus’ $2.54 estimate. Earnings benefited from a lower effective tax rate of 26.2% that added $0.12 to EPS relative to our 29.5% estimate. Revenue results beat our estimate, driven by stronger than expected growth across all four segments, but was still below consensus estimate, which anticipated stronger growth in the Combat System segment than what was realized. Management issued better than expected initial guidance for 2017, driven by continued growth in GD’s Combat System and IS&T segments. GD continues to execute very well and will certainly benefit if an improvement in GDP drives a recovery in the business jet market. We balance the upside that would come from such an improvement with the downside should it not, and, in the end, believe more attractive risk-reward profiles exist elsewhere in the industry. As a result, we maintain our Hold rating."