Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) Stock Rating Upgraded by StockNews.com

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) was upgraded by StockNews.com from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note issued on Tuesday.

A number of other brokerages have also recently issued reports on NOC. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised shares of Northrop Grumman from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $474.00 to $575.00 in a research note on Monday, July 29th. UBS Group boosted their price target on Northrop Grumman from $614.00 to $643.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on Northrop Grumman from $500.00 to $540.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Northrop Grumman from $509.00 to $565.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Finally, Alembic Global Advisors cut shares of Northrop Grumman from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $560.00 target price for the company. in a report on Tuesday, August 27th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $550.56.

Northrop Grumman Price Performance

Northrop Grumman stock opened at $520.39 on Tuesday. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $524.14 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $485.78. The firm has a market cap of $75.82 billion, a PE ratio of 32.24, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.07 and a beta of 0.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.00, a current ratio of 1.09 and a quick ratio of 0.97. Northrop Grumman has a one year low of $418.60 and a one year high of $555.57.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The aerospace company reported $7.00 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.07 by $0.93. The business had revenue of $10 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.18 billion. Northrop Grumman had a return on equity of 26.57% and a net margin of 5.79%. Northrop Grumman’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $6.18 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts expect that Northrop Grumman will post 25.95 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In related news, VP Benjamin R. Davies sold 1,156 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $532.93, for a total value of $616,067.08. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 537 shares in the company, valued at $286,183.41. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 1,289 shares of company stock valued at $685,273. Company insiders own 0.22% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Northrop Grumman

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Optimum Investment Advisors boosted its position in Northrop Grumman by 241.2% during the second quarter. Optimum Investment Advisors now owns 58 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 41 shares during the last quarter. Bank & Trust Co bought a new stake in shares of Northrop Grumman during the 2nd quarter valued at about $28,000. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC acquired a new stake in Northrop Grumman during the third quarter worth approximately $31,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. increased its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 245.5% in the second quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 76 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 54 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Northrop Grumman during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $40,000. 83.40% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.