Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC) Receives Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC) has been assigned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the twenty-one research firms that are covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average 1 year price target among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $702.6316.

NOC has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Jefferies Financial Group cut their target price on shares of Northrop Grumman from $660.00 to $620.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, May 26th. BTIG Research reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $815.00 target price on shares of Northrop Grumman in a report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on shares of Northrop Grumman from $765.00 to $745.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Northrop Grumman from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Thursday. Finally, Citigroup cut their target price on shares of Northrop Grumman from $742.00 to $628.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, May 18th.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Northrop Grumman

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Kestra Investment Management LLC increased its stake in Northrop Grumman by 4.4% in the 4th quarter. Kestra Investment Management LLC now owns 353 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $201,000 after purchasing an additional 15 shares in the last quarter. Evolution Wealth Management Inc. increased its stake in Northrop Grumman by 6.8% in the 4th quarter. Evolution Wealth Management Inc. now owns 235 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $134,000 after purchasing an additional 15 shares in the last quarter. Howard Financial Services LTD. increased its stake in Northrop Grumman by 1.4% in the 4th quarter. Howard Financial Services LTD. now owns 1,143 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $651,000 after purchasing an additional 16 shares in the last quarter. Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC increased its stake in Northrop Grumman by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC now owns 1,973 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $1,125,000 after purchasing an additional 16 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC increased its stake in Northrop Grumman by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 4,012 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $2,288,000 after purchasing an additional 16 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.40% of the company’s stock.

Northrop Grumman Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE NOC opened at $521.85 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.04, a current ratio of 1.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.84. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $574.00 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $629.31. Northrop Grumman has a 52-week low of $481.28 and a 52-week high of $774.00. The stock has a market capitalization of $74.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.33, a P/E/G ratio of 3.56 and a beta of -0.12.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, April 21st. The aerospace company reported $6.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.06 by $0.08. Northrop Grumman had a net margin of 10.80% and a return on equity of 24.72%. The firm had revenue of $9.88 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.75 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $6.06 earnings per share. Northrop Grumman’s revenue was up 4.4% on a year-over-year basis. Northrop Grumman has set its FY 2026 guidance at 27.400-27.900 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Northrop Grumman will post 27.93 earnings per share for the current year.

Northrop Grumman Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 1st were paid a $2.47 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 1st. This is an increase from Northrop Grumman’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.31. This represents a $9.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.9%. Northrop Grumman’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 30.92%.

Northrop Grumman Company Profile

Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE: NOC) is a leading U.S.-based aerospace and defense company that designs, builds and sustains advanced systems, products and technologies for government and commercial customers. Formed through the combination of Northrop and Grumman businesses in the 1990s, the company’s portfolio spans manned and unmanned aircraft, space systems, missile defense, radar and sensor systems, and integrated command, control, communications, computers, intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (C4ISR) solutions.

The company’s work includes airframe and platform manufacturing, space hardware and satellite systems, advanced mission systems and cybersecurity services, as well as logistics, sustainment and modernization programs.