Brokerages Set Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) Price Target at $553.27

Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) has received a consensus rating of “Hold” from the fifteen analysts that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and six have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year price objective among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $551.40.

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on NOC shares. StockNews.com upgraded Northrop Grumman from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 3rd. Susquehanna cut their price objective on Northrop Grumman from $625.00 to $557.00 and set a “positive” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday. Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on shares of Northrop Grumman from $500.00 to $540.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. Barclays cut their price target on shares of Northrop Grumman from $550.00 to $500.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday. Finally, Citigroup raised their price objective on shares of Northrop Grumman from $521.00 to $587.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th.

Northrop Grumman Price Performance

NYSE:NOC opened at $462.68 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.97, a current ratio of 1.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.00. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $485.71 and its 200 day moving average price is $492.01. Northrop Grumman has a 52-week low of $418.60 and a 52-week high of $555.57. The firm has a market cap of $67.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.67, a PEG ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 0.35.

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

Northrop Grumman Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, December 18th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 2nd were issued a dividend of $2.06 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 2nd. This represents a $8.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.78%. Northrop Grumman’s dividend payout ratio is 51.05%.

Northrop Grumman declared that its board has approved a share repurchase program on Wednesday, December 11th that permits the company to repurchase $3.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the aerospace company to buy up to 4.3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are usually a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Activity at Northrop Grumman

In other news, VP Benjamin R. Davies sold 1,156 shares of the 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 transaction, the vice president now owns 537 shares in the company, valued at $286,183.41. This represents a 68.28 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 1,255 shares of company stock valued at $663,859. 0.22% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Northrop Grumman

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Larson Financial Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman by 101.9% during the 2nd quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 208 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $91,000 after acquiring an additional 105 shares during the last quarter. TD Asset Management Inc grew its position in shares of Northrop Grumman by 0.5% in the second quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 57,901 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $25,242,000 after purchasing an additional 271 shares during the last quarter. National Bank of Canada FI increased its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman by 13.3% in the second quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 61,877 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $26,914,000 after purchasing an additional 7,280 shares during the period. Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS lifted its position in shares of Northrop Grumman by 29.0% during the 2nd quarter. Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS now owns 1,959 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $854,000 after purchasing an additional 440 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. grew its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 100.0% in the 2nd quarter. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. now owns 198 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $86,000 after buying an additional 99 shares during the last quarter. 83.40% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.