Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) Downgraded by StockNews.com

StockNews.com downgraded shares of Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research note published on Monday morning.

NOC has been the topic of a number of other research reports. Susquehanna lifted their price target on shares of Northrop Grumman from $540.00 to $560.00 and gave the company a positive rating in a report on Friday, April 26th. Alembic Global Advisors upgraded shares of Northrop Grumman from a neutral rating to an overweight rating and set a $532.00 target price on the stock in a report on Monday, April 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of Northrop Grumman from $483.00 to $518.00 in a report on Tuesday, June 18th. Robert W. Baird lifted their target price on shares of Northrop Grumman from $475.00 to $505.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a report on Friday, April 26th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein lowered shares of Northrop Grumman from an outperform rating to a market perform rating and set a $477.00 target price on the stock. in a report on Friday, June 21st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Northrop Grumman currently has a consensus rating of Hold and an average price target of $510.36.

Northrop Grumman Stock Up 0.7 %

NOC stock opened at $431.50 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $63.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.17, a PEG ratio of 2.00 and a beta of 0.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 1.13. Northrop Grumman has a one year low of $414.56 and a one year high of $496.89. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $457.36 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $460.10.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last released its earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The aerospace company reported $6.32 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $5.83 by $0.49. The firm had revenue of $10.13 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.77 billion. Northrop Grumman had a net margin of 5.38% and a return on equity of 24.09%. Northrop Grumman’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $5.50 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Northrop Grumman will post 24.7 EPS for the current year.

Northrop Grumman Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 12th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 28th were given a dividend of $2.06 per share. This is a boost from Northrop Grumman’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.87. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 24th. This represents a $8.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.91%. Northrop Grumman’s payout ratio is currently 57.62%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Northrop Grumman

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of NOC. HM Payson & Co. lifted its position in shares of Northrop Grumman by 8.3% in the first quarter. HM Payson & Co. now owns 3,054 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $1,462,000 after purchasing an additional 234 shares in the last quarter. NBW Capital LLC raised its position in Northrop Grumman by 7.8% during the first quarter. NBW Capital LLC now owns 8,690 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $4,160,000 after acquiring an additional 627 shares in the last quarter. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. raised its position in Northrop Grumman by 41.7% during the first quarter. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. now owns 635 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $304,000 after acquiring an additional 187 shares in the last quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC acquired a new position in shares of Northrop Grumman in the first quarter valued at $1,623,000. Finally, Birmingham Capital Management Co. Inc. AL acquired a new position in shares of Northrop Grumman in the first quarter valued at about $203,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.