Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) Stock Price Up 1.8% – Still a Buy?

Shares of Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC) rose 1.8% during mid-day trading on Tuesday. The company traded as high as $553.47 and last traded at $549.0090. 546,133 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 41% from the average session volume of 930,138 shares. The stock had previously closed at $539.07.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

NOC has been the subject of a number of research reports. Robert W. Baird raised Northrop Grumman from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $550.00 to $675.00 in a research report on Wednesday, October 21st. Sanford C. Bernstein increased their price objective on Northrop Grumman from $556.00 to $590.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 27th. Rothschild & Co Redburn assumed coverage on Northrop Grumman in a research note on Tuesday, October 6th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $680.00 price objective for the company. Guggenheim lifted their target price on Northrop Grumman from $612.00 to $640.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 21st. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “hold” rating and issued a $585.00 target price on shares of Northrop Grumman in a research report on Sunday, October 25th. Fifteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $643.74.

Northrop Grumman Price Performance

The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $519.78 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $587.07. The firm has a market cap of $78.08 billion, a PE ratio of 17.34, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.94 and a beta of -0.13. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a current ratio of 1.23.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, October 20th. The aerospace company reported $7.89 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $7.18 by $0.71. Northrop Grumman had a return on equity of 23.46% and a net margin of 10.37%. The firm had revenue of $11.12 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $11.14 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $7.67 earnings per share. Northrop Grumman’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts expect that Northrop Grumman Corporation will post 29.68 earnings per share for the current year.

Northrop Grumman Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 16th. Investors of record on Monday, August 31st were paid a $2.47 dividend. This represents a $9.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.8%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 31st. Northrop Grumman’s payout ratio is currently 31.17%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Mark Welsh, III sold 98 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, November 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $555.65, for a total transaction of $54,453.70. Following the sale, the director directly owned 4,314 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,397,074.10. This represents a 2.22% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. 0.21% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Putney Financial Group LLC grew its position in shares of Northrop Grumman by 4.2% during the 3rd quarter. Putney Financial Group LLC now owns 448 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $217,000 after acquiring an additional 18 shares during the period. Glenview Trust Co raised its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 1.1% in the 1st quarter. Glenview Trust Co now owns 1,796 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $1,225,000 after purchasing an additional 19 shares during the period. Quadrant Private Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 5.4% in the 1st quarter. Quadrant Private Wealth Management LLC now owns 392 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $268,000 after purchasing an additional 20 shares during the period. Victrix Investment Advisors boosted its position in Northrop Grumman by 0.8% during the second quarter. Victrix Investment Advisors now owns 2,469 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $1,257,000 after purchasing an additional 20 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Goepper Burkhardt LLC boosted its position in Northrop Grumman by 4.1% during the first quarter. Goepper Burkhardt LLC now owns 537 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $366,000 after purchasing an additional 21 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.40% of the company’s stock.

About Northrop Grumman

Northrop Grumman Corporation is a U.S.-based aerospace and defense company that develops and produces systems for government and commercial customers. Its business spans aeronautics, defense, mission technologies and space, including military aircraft, autonomous systems, missile and air-defense capabilities, sensors, communications and satellites. The company is the prime contractor for the B-21 Raider and is developing the Sentinel intercontinental ballistic missile system. It also supplies technologies and components for other defense programs, as well as launch vehicles, propulsion systems and spacecraft.