Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) Receives $503.00 Consensus PT from Analysts

Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) has received an average recommendation of “Hold” from the twelve brokerages that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, seven have assigned a hold recommendation and four have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month target price among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $509.38.

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on NOC shares. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Northrop Grumman from $483.00 to $518.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday. StockNews.com raised shares of Northrop Grumman from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, April 26th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on shares of Northrop Grumman from $450.00 to $475.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Friday, April 26th. Susquehanna upped their price target on shares of Northrop Grumman from $540.00 to $560.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a research report on Friday, April 26th. Finally, Alembic Global Advisors raised shares of Northrop Grumman from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $532.00 price target for the company in a research report on Monday, April 22nd.

Northrop Grumman Price Performance

Northrop Grumman stock opened at $474.75 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $70.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.20, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.99 and a beta of 0.34. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $464.80 and a 200-day simple moving average of $465.95. Northrop Grumman has a 12-month low of $414.56 and a 12-month high of $496.89. The company has a current ratio of 1.13, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 25th. The aerospace company reported $6.32 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.83 by $0.49. Northrop Grumman had a net margin of 5.38% and a return on equity of 24.09%. The company had revenue of $10.13 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.77 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $5.50 earnings per share. Northrop Grumman’s quarterly revenue was up 8.9% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts expect that Northrop Grumman will post 24.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Northrop Grumman Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 13th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 26th were paid a dividend of $1.87 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 23rd. This represents a $7.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.58%. Northrop Grumman’s payout ratio is 52.31%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Northrop Grumman

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Northrop Grumman

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Wesbanco Bank Inc. boosted its position in Northrop Grumman by 1.2% during the third quarter. Wesbanco Bank Inc. now owns 1,782 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $784,000 after purchasing an additional 21 shares during the period. Bogart Wealth LLC raised its stake in Northrop Grumman by 14.1% in the first quarter. Bogart Wealth LLC now owns 170 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $81,000 after purchasing an additional 21 shares in the last quarter. Ausdal Financial Partners Inc. raised its stake in Northrop Grumman by 4.4% in the fourth quarter. Ausdal Financial Partners Inc. now owns 524 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $245,000 after purchasing an additional 22 shares in the last quarter. Secure Asset Management LLC raised its stake in Northrop Grumman by 2.7% during the fourth quarter. Secure Asset Management LLC now owns 844 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $395,000 after acquiring an additional 22 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Simon Quick Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman by 4.0% during the third quarter. Simon Quick Advisors LLC now owns 604 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $266,000 after purchasing an additional 23 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.40% of the company’s stock.

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.