Brokerages Set Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) Target Price at $523.20

Shares of Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) have been assigned an average recommendation of “Hold” from the fifteen analysts that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month price objective among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $523.20.

A number of research firms have commented on NOC. Sanford C. Bernstein cut Northrop Grumman from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and set a $477.00 price target for the company. in a research note on Friday, June 21st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised shares of Northrop Grumman from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $474.00 to $575.00 in a research report on Monday, July 29th. Alembic Global Advisors downgraded shares of Northrop Grumman from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $560.00 target price on the stock. in a research report on Tuesday, August 27th. StockNews.com raised shares of Northrop Grumman from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, July 12th. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of Northrop Grumman from $593.00 to $605.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, July 26th.

Northrop Grumman Stock Up 0.2 %

Shares of Northrop Grumman stock opened at $523.49 on Monday. Northrop Grumman has a 52-week low of $414.56 and a 52-week high of $528.76. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $475.08 and its 200-day moving average price is $464.53. The company has a quick ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03. The company has a market cap of $77.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.61, a PEG ratio of 2.40 and a beta of 0.32.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The aerospace company reported $6.36 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.93 by $0.43. The business had revenue of $10.22 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.02 billion. Northrop Grumman had a return on equity of 25.44% and a net margin of 5.61%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 6.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $5.34 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Northrop Grumman will post 25.15 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Northrop Grumman Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 18th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 3rd will be issued a $2.06 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 3rd. This represents a $8.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.57%. Northrop Grumman’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 57.62%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Northrop Grumman news, VP Thomas H. Jones sold 1,390 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $500.00, for a total value of $695,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 4,634 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,317,000. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In other Northrop Grumman news, VP Thomas H. Jones sold 1,389 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $477.56, for a total value of $663,330.84. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 6,755 shares in the company, valued at $3,225,917.80. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, VP Thomas H. Jones sold 1,390 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $500.00, for a total value of $695,000.00. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 4,634 shares in the company, valued at $2,317,000. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 2,813 shares of company stock valued at $1,375,877 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.22% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Northrop Grumman

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. raised its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman by 960.0% during the 4th quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 53 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 48 shares during the period. Optimum Investment Advisors raised 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 worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 41 shares during the period. Bank & Trust Co purchased a new position in Northrop Grumman during the second quarter valued at $28,000. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Northrop Grumman during the fourth quarter valued at $29,000. Finally, Meeder Asset Management Inc. grew its position in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 54 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.