Truist Financial Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) Stock

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) had its price objective raised by stock analysts at Truist Financial from $545.00 to $600.00 in a research note issued to investors on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has a “buy” rating on the aerospace company’s stock. Truist Financial’s price objective would suggest a potential upside of 11.46% from the stock’s previous close.

A number of other research analysts have also issued reports on the company. Argus upgraded Northrop Grumman to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. UBS Group dropped their target price on Northrop Grumman from $579.00 to $558.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Susquehanna cut their price objective on Northrop Grumman from $625.00 to $557.00 and set a “positive” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Wolfe Research upgraded shares of Northrop Grumman from an “underperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada upgraded shares of Northrop Grumman from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $500.00 to $575.00 in a research report on Thursday, March 27th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $548.88.

Northrop Grumman Stock Performance

NOC stock traded up $0.79 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $538.30. The stock had a trading volume of 227,484 shares, compared to its average volume of 863,221. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $485.78 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $492.08. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a current ratio of 1.01. The stock has a market cap of $77.59 billion, a PE ratio of 18.99, a P/E/G ratio of 3.73 and a beta of 0.20. Northrop Grumman has a 52-week low of $418.60 and a 52-week high of $555.57.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The aerospace company reported $6.39 earnings per share 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%. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Northrop Grumman will post 28.05 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Kathy J. Warden sold 3,750 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $475.65, for a total value of $1,783,687.50. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 212,852 shares in the company, valued at approximately $101,243,053.80. This represents a 1.73 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, VP Benjamin R. Davies sold 192 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $429.08, for a total transaction of $82,383.36. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 709 shares in the company, valued at $304,217.72. This represents a 21.31 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 4,505 shares of company stock worth $2,127,182. Corporate insiders own 0.23% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Northrop Grumman

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Good Life Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Northrop Grumman by 70.0% during the first quarter. Good Life Advisors LLC now owns 4,493 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $2,300,000 after buying an additional 1,850 shares during the last quarter. Asio Capital LLC increased its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman by 0.8% in the first quarter. Asio Capital LLC now owns 6,277 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $3,214,000 after buying an additional 49 shares in the last quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC lifted its position in Northrop Grumman by 10.5% during the 1st quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 1,944 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $995,000 after buying an additional 184 shares in the last quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management grew its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 31.5% during the 1st quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management now owns 1,794 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $919,000 after acquiring an additional 430 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC raised its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman by 0.3% in the first quarter. Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC now owns 12,042 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $6,166,000 after acquiring an additional 35 shares during the last quarter. 83.40% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.