Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) Upgraded by Wells Fargo & Company to Overweight Rating

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) was upgraded by research analysts at Wells Fargo & Company from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Wednesday,Briefing.com Automated Import reports. The firm presently has a $595.00 price objective on the aerospace company’s stock. Wells Fargo & Company‘s price objective indicates a potential upside of 31.50% from the company’s previous close.

Other analysts have also issued reports about the stock. TD Cowen upgraded shares of Northrop Grumman to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on shares of Northrop Grumman from $500.00 to $540.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on Northrop Grumman from $500.00 to $560.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, October 14th. Citigroup lifted their target price on Northrop Grumman from $521.00 to $587.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, Susquehanna upped their price target on Northrop Grumman from $560.00 to $625.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Northrop Grumman has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $555.93.

Northrop Grumman Stock Down 0.6 %

Shares of NYSE NOC opened at $452.47 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $65.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.03, a P/E/G ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 0.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.00, a current ratio of 1.09 and a quick ratio of 0.97. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $487.49 and a 200-day simple moving average of $492.42. Northrop Grumman has a 1 year low of $418.60 and a 1 year high of $555.57.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 24th. The aerospace company reported $7.00 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.07 by $0.93. Northrop Grumman had a return on equity of 26.57% and a net margin of 5.79%. The firm had revenue of $10 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.18 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $6.18 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 2.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts predict that Northrop Grumman will post 25.93 earnings per share for the current year.

Northrop Grumman declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase plan on Wednesday, December 11th that allows the company to repurchase $3.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the aerospace company to purchase up to 4.3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are often a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Activity at Northrop Grumman

In other news, VP Benjamin R. Davies sold 1,156 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $532.93, for a total value of $616,067.08. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 537 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $286,183.41. This represents a 68.28 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders sold a total of 1,255 shares of company stock worth $663,859 in the last 90 days. 0.22% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Northrop Grumman

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in NOC. Two Sigma Advisers LP lifted its position in Northrop Grumman by 102.6% during the 3rd quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 735,600 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $388,448,000 after acquiring an additional 372,500 shares during the period. Marshall Wace LLP acquired a new stake in shares of Northrop Grumman during the second quarter worth $74,206,000. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board grew its position in Northrop Grumman by 113.6% in the 2nd quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 296,844 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $129,409,000 after buying an additional 157,854 shares during the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc increased its stake in Northrop Grumman by 16.0% in the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 1,087,913 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $474,276,000 after buying an additional 150,367 shares during the period. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. raised its position in Northrop Grumman by 6.2% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 2,426,270 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $1,315,729,000 after buying an additional 141,816 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.40% of the company’s stock.

About Northrop Grumman

Northrop Grumman Corporation operates as an aerospace and defense technology company in the United States, Asia/Pacific, Europe, and internationally. The company’s Aeronautics Systems segment designs, develops, manufactures, integrates, and sustains aircraft systems. This segment also offers unmanned autonomous aircraft systems, including high-altitude long-endurance strategic ISR systems and vertical take-off and landing tactical ISR systems; and strategic long-range strike aircraft, tactical fighter and air dominance aircraft, and airborne battle management and command and control systems.