Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) Receives Average Recommendation of “Hold” from Brokerages

Shares of Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) have earned an average rating of “Hold” from the fifteen research firms that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 12-month price objective among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $553.27.

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the stock. UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Northrop Grumman from $614.00 to $643.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Citigroup boosted their price target on Northrop Grumman from $521.00 to $587.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Alembic Global Advisors cut Northrop Grumman from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $560.00 price objective for the company. in a report on Tuesday, August 27th. Susquehanna boosted their target price on Northrop Grumman from $560.00 to $625.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on Northrop Grumman from $565.00 to $505.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, December 11th.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Northrop Grumman news, VP Benjamin R. Davies sold 1,156 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 owns 537 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $286,183.41. This trade represents a 68.28 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Insiders have sold 1,255 shares of company stock valued at $666,461 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.22% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Northrop Grumman

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Wedmont Private Capital boosted its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 5.7% in the second quarter. Wedmont Private Capital now owns 1,014 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $438,000 after acquiring an additional 55 shares in the last quarter. Diversified Trust Co grew its position in Northrop Grumman by 29.8% during the 2nd quarter. Diversified Trust Co now owns 1,962 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $855,000 after purchasing an additional 451 shares during the last quarter. ORG Partners LLC increased its stake in Northrop Grumman by 641.3% during the 2nd quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 2,135 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $931,000 after purchasing an additional 1,847 shares in the last quarter. Cornerstone Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 4.0% in the second quarter. Cornerstone Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,368 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $596,000 after buying an additional 53 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Whitener Capital Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman by 109.6% in the second quarter. Whitener Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,396 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $609,000 after buying an additional 730 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.40% of the company’s stock.

Northrop Grumman Price Performance

NOC opened at $480.29 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.00, a current ratio of 1.09 and a quick ratio of 0.97. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $504.69 and its 200 day simple moving average is $488.95. The firm has a market cap of $69.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.76, a PEG ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 0.33. Northrop Grumman has a 1 year low of $418.60 and a 1 year high of $555.57.

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

Northrop Grumman declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase plan on Wednesday, December 11th that allows the company to buyback $3.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the aerospace company to repurchase up to 4.3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are generally an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Northrop Grumman Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 18th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 2nd will be issued a dividend of $2.06 per share. This represents a $8.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.72%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 2nd. Northrop Grumman’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 51.05%.

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.