Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) Receives $543.65 Average PT from Brokerages

Shares of Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) have received a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the nineteen brokerages that are covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. The average 1-year target price among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $548.88.

Several research analysts have weighed in on NOC shares. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Northrop Grumman from $545.00 to $547.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, March 7th. Truist Financial upped their price objective on Northrop Grumman from $545.00 to $600.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Wolfe Research upgraded Northrop Grumman from an “underperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded Northrop Grumman from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $424.00 to $521.00 in a report on Friday, April 11th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of Northrop Grumman from $580.00 to $625.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 16th.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Kathy J. Warden sold 3,750 shares of Northrop Grumman stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $475.65, for a total transaction of $1,783,687.50. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 212,852 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $101,243,053.80. The trade was a 1.73 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, VP Benjamin R. Davies sold 464 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $460.75, for a total transaction of $213,788.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 245 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $112,883.75. The trade was a 65.44 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 4,505 shares of company stock worth $2,127,182 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.23% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Northrop Grumman

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Whipplewood Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Northrop Grumman in the 4th quarter valued at $31,000. Wood Tarver Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Northrop Grumman in the fourth quarter worth about $32,000. Albion Financial Group UT purchased a new position in shares of Northrop Grumman in the fourth quarter worth approximately $33,000. Bellwether Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Northrop Grumman during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Finally, Modus Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Northrop Grumman in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $38,000. 83.40% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Northrop Grumman Price Performance

Shares of NOC stock opened at $530.83 on Tuesday. Northrop Grumman has a twelve month low of $418.60 and a twelve month high of $555.57. The company has a market capitalization of $76.51 billion, a PE ratio of 18.73, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.73 and a beta of 0.20. The company has a current ratio of 1.01, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $489.62 and a 200-day simple moving average of $491.45.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The aerospace company reported $6.39 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $6.27 by $0.12. Northrop Grumman had a return on equity of 26.24% and a net margin of 10.17%. Equities research analysts anticipate that Northrop Grumman will post 28.05 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Northrop Grumman Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 19th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 3rd were issued a $2.06 dividend. This represents a $8.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.55%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 3rd. Northrop Grumman’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 29.08%.

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.