Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) Receives $535.00 Average PT from Analysts

Shares of Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) have received a consensus recommendation of “Hold” from the sixteen ratings firms that are covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating on the company. The average twelve-month price objective among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $535.00.

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on NOC shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on Northrop Grumman from $500.00 to $560.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, October 14th. TD Cowen upgraded Northrop Grumman to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of Northrop Grumman from $579.00 to $592.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 9th. Alembic Global Advisors cut shares of Northrop Grumman from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $560.00 target price for the company. in a research note on Tuesday, August 27th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Northrop Grumman from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, July 12th.

Northrop Grumman Stock Up 1.4 %

Shares of NOC stock opened at $523.68 on Tuesday. Northrop Grumman has a 1 year low of $418.60 and a 1 year high of $555.57. The stock has a market cap of $76.58 billion, a PE ratio of 34.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.38 and a beta of 0.34. The business’s fifty day moving average is $522.88 and its 200-day moving average is $480.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a current ratio of 1.11.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last issued its earnings results 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. The business had revenue of $10 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $10.18 billion. Northrop Grumman had a return on equity of 25.44% and a net margin of 5.61%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 2.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $6.18 EPS. Equities analysts expect that Northrop Grumman will post 25.16 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Northrop Grumman Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 18th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 3rd were paid a $2.06 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, September 3rd. This represents a $8.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.57%. Northrop Grumman’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 53.79%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, VP Thomas H. Jones sold 1,390 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $500.00, for a total transaction of $695,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 4,634 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,317,000. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In the last three months, insiders sold 1,490 shares of company stock valued at $747,372. 0.22% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Northrop Grumman

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Optimum Investment Advisors increased its position in Northrop Grumman by 241.2% during the 2nd quarter. Optimum Investment Advisors now owns 58 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 41 shares during the period. Bank & Trust Co bought a new position in shares of Northrop Grumman in the second quarter worth $28,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Northrop Grumman by 245.5% in the second quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 76 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 54 shares during the period. Riverview Trust Co bought a new position in shares of Northrop Grumman in the first quarter worth $47,000. Finally, Strategic Financial Concepts LLC acquired a new stake in Northrop Grumman in the second quarter valued at about $47,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.40% of the company’s stock.

Northrop Grumman Company Profile

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.