Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) Now Covered by BTIG Research

Investment analysts at BTIG Research began coverage on shares of Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) in a research report issued on Wednesday, MarketBeat.com reports. The firm set a “buy” rating and a $565.00 price target on the aerospace company’s stock. BTIG Research’s target price suggests a potential upside of 29.93% from the company’s previous close.

Several other research firms also recently weighed in on NOC. StockNews.com downgraded Northrop Grumman from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Northrop Grumman from $483.00 to $518.00 in a research report on Tuesday, June 18th. Sanford C. Bernstein downgraded shares of Northrop Grumman from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and set a $477.00 price target for the company. in a research report on Friday, June 21st. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective 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. Finally, Alembic Global Advisors upgraded shares of Northrop Grumman from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $532.00 target price for the company in a research note on Monday, April 22nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $510.36.

Northrop Grumman Price Performance

NOC stock opened at $434.86 on Wednesday. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $456.95 and a 200 day moving average price of $459.90. The company has a quick ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04. The stock has a market cap of $64.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.41, a PEG ratio of 2.00 and a beta of 0.35. Northrop Grumman has a fifty-two week low of $414.56 and a fifty-two week high of $496.89.

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Northrop Grumman

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. HM Payson & Co. grew its position in Northrop Grumman by 8.3% during the first quarter. HM Payson & Co. now owns 3,054 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $1,462,000 after buying an additional 234 shares during the period. NBW Capital LLC grew its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman by 7.8% in the 1st 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 during the period. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. increased its stake in Northrop Grumman by 41.7% in the 1st quarter. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. now owns 635 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $304,000 after purchasing an additional 187 shares in the last quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC acquired a new position in Northrop Grumman during the first quarter worth $1,623,000. Finally, Birmingham Capital Management Co. Inc. AL purchased a new stake in Northrop Grumman during the first quarter worth $203,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.