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 issued on Friday.

Several other research analysts have also issued reports on the company. UBS Group boosted their target price on Northrop Grumman from $614.00 to $643.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Susquehanna boosted their target price on Northrop Grumman from $560.00 to $625.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Barclays boosted their target price on Northrop Grumman from $500.00 to $550.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 29th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on Northrop Grumman from $565.00 to $505.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. Finally, TD Cowen upgraded Northrop Grumman to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $553.27.

Northrop Grumman Trading Down 0.0 %

NOC opened at $467.82 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $68.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.99, a P/E/G ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 0.35. Northrop Grumman has a 12 month low of $418.60 and a 12 month high of $555.57. The company has a current ratio of 1.09, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.00. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $489.68 and a 200 day moving average of $491.67.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last released its quarterly earnings results 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 company had revenue of $10 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.18 billion. Northrop Grumman had a return on equity of 26.57% and a net margin of 5.79%. The firm’s revenue was up 2.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $6.18 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts forecast that Northrop Grumman will post 25.93 EPS for the current year.

Northrop Grumman Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, December 18th. Investors of record on Monday, December 2nd were paid a $2.06 dividend. This represents a $8.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.76%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 2nd. Northrop Grumman’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 51.05%.

Northrop Grumman declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase program on Wednesday, December 11th that allows the company to repurchase $3.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the aerospace company to reacquire up to 4.3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are typically a sign that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, VP Benjamin R. Davies sold 1,156 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $532.93, for a total transaction of $616,067.08. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 537 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $286,183.41. This represents a 68.28 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders sold 1,222 shares of company stock valued at $648,786 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.22% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Northrop Grumman

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Modus Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Northrop Grumman during the fourth quarter worth $38,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman by 3.1% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 166,434 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $87,889,000 after buying an additional 4,969 shares during the last quarter. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC grew its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman by 13.7% during the third quarter. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC now owns 330,647 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $174,605,000 after buying an additional 39,780 shares during the last quarter. Birmingham Capital Management Co. Inc. AL purchased a new stake in shares of Northrop Grumman during the third quarter valued at $224,000. Finally, Copley Financial Group Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Northrop Grumman during the third quarter valued at $479,000. 83.40% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.