Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) Rating Increased to Overweight at Alembic Global Advisors

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) was upgraded by stock analysts at Alembic Global Advisors from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating in a research note issued on Monday, MarketBeat reports. The brokerage currently has a $532.00 price objective on the aerospace company’s stock. Alembic Global Advisors’ price target indicates a potential upside of 12.14% from the company’s current price.

Other equities analysts also recently issued reports about the company. StockNews.com downgraded Northrop Grumman from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, January 29th. TheStreet lowered Northrop Grumman from a “b+” rating to a “c+” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 25th. Susquehanna dropped their price target on Northrop Grumman from $560.00 to $540.00 and set a “positive” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 26th. Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and set a $450.00 price target (down from $515.00) on shares of Northrop Grumman in a research note on Friday, January 26th. Finally, Robert W. Baird dropped their price target on Northrop Grumman from $505.00 to $475.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 26th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Northrop Grumman currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $497.23.

Northrop Grumman Stock Performance

NYSE NOC opened at $474.40 on Monday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $460.67 and its 200 day moving average price is $465.48. Northrop Grumman has a twelve month low of $414.56 and a twelve month high of $496.89. The company has a market capitalization of $70.31 billion, a PE ratio of 35.19, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 0.35. The company has a current ratio of 1.15, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last released its earnings results on Thursday, January 25th. The aerospace company reported $6.27 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $5.80 by $0.47. Northrop Grumman had a return on equity of 23.07% and a net margin of 5.23%. The firm had revenue of $10.64 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.43 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $7.50 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts predict that Northrop Grumman will post 24.67 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at Northrop Grumman

In related news, VP Kathryn G. Simpson sold 1,273 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $450.37, for a total value of $573,321.01. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 2,735 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,231,761.95. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other Northrop Grumman news, CAO Michael A. Hardesty sold 210 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $454.68, for a total transaction of $95,482.80. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 3,127 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,421,784.36. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, VP Kathryn G. Simpson sold 1,273 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $450.37, for a total value of $573,321.01. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 2,735 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,231,761.95. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 3,149 shares of company stock valued at $1,421,147. Insiders own 0.22% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vontobel Holding Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman by 24.6% in the 3rd quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. now owns 2,191 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $964,000 after purchasing an additional 432 shares during the last quarter. AE Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman by 6.5% in the 3rd quarter. AE Wealth Management LLC now owns 5,468 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $2,407,000 after purchasing an additional 336 shares during the last quarter. RFG Advisory LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman by 19.8% in the 3rd quarter. RFG Advisory LLC now owns 575 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $253,000 after purchasing an additional 95 shares during the last quarter. Founders Financial Securities LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman by 8.9% in the 3rd quarter. Founders Financial Securities LLC now owns 2,122 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $934,000 after purchasing an additional 173 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cedar Brook Financial Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman by 9.2% in the 3rd quarter. Cedar Brook Financial Partners LLC now owns 3,550 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $1,562,000 after purchasing an additional 298 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors 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.