Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) Upgraded at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) from a buy rating to a strong-buy rating in a report released on Friday morning.

NOC has been the topic of several other research reports. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of Northrop Grumman from $579.00 to $592.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 9th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of Northrop Grumman from $509.00 to $565.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Alembic Global Advisors lowered shares of Northrop Grumman from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $560.00 price target on the stock. in a research report on Tuesday, August 27th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on shares of Northrop Grumman from $500.00 to $540.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Finally, TD Cowen raised shares of Northrop Grumman to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Northrop Grumman has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $550.56.

Northrop Grumman Stock Down 1.2 %

Northrop Grumman stock opened at $473.65 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $69.01 billion, a PE ratio of 29.35, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 0.33. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.00, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a current ratio of 1.09. Northrop Grumman has a fifty-two week low of $418.60 and a fifty-two week high of $555.57. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $512.54 and its 200 day simple moving average is $487.83.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 24th. The aerospace company reported $7.00 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $6.07 by $0.93. The business had revenue of $10 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.18 billion. Northrop Grumman had a net margin of 5.79% and a return on equity of 26.57%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $6.18 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that Northrop Grumman will post 25.93 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Northrop Grumman Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 18th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 2nd will be paid a dividend of $2.06 per share. This represents a $8.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.74%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 2nd. Northrop Grumman’s payout ratio is 51.05%.

Insider Activity

In other Northrop Grumman news, VP Benjamin R. Davies sold 1,156 shares of Northrop Grumman stock in a transaction on Monday, November 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $532.93, for a total transaction of $616,067.08. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 537 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $286,183.41. The trade was a 68.28 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders have sold a total of 1,255 shares of company stock worth $666,461 over the last quarter. Insiders own 0.22% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Northrop Grumman

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Optimum Investment Advisors raised its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 241.2% in the second quarter. Optimum Investment Advisors now owns 58 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 41 shares in the last quarter. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC purchased a new stake in Northrop Grumman in the third quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. boosted its position in Northrop Grumman by 245.5% in the second quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 76 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 54 shares during the last quarter. FSA Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Northrop Grumman in the third quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Finally, Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Northrop Grumman in the third quarter valued at approximately $40,000. 83.40% of the stock is currently 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.