Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) Now Covered by Truist Financial

Investment analysts at Truist Financial assumed coverage on shares of Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) in a research report issued to clients and investors on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage set a “buy” rating and a $544.00 price target on the aerospace company’s stock. Truist Financial’s price target points to a potential upside of 14.99% from the stock’s current price.

A number of other equities research analysts have also recently commented on the company. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on Northrop Grumman from $500.00 to $540.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of Northrop Grumman from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $595.00 price target for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Susquehanna lowered their price objective on shares of Northrop Grumman from $625.00 to $557.00 and set a “positive” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. TD Cowen upgraded shares of Northrop Grumman to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. Finally, Barclays lowered their target price 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, January 6th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Northrop Grumman presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $550.94.

Northrop Grumman Stock Up 3.1 %

Northrop Grumman stock opened at $473.09 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $68.93 billion, a PE ratio of 29.31, a PEG 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 firm’s fifty day moving average is $484.06 and its 200 day moving average is $493.34. The company has a quick ratio of 0.97, a current ratio of 1.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.00.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 24th. The aerospace company reported $7.00 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $6.07 by $0.93. The firm 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 business’s quarterly revenue was up 2.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $6.18 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Northrop Grumman will post 25.93 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Northrop Grumman announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock 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 purchase up to 4.3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are often an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Transactions at Northrop Grumman

In other 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 sale, the vice president now owns 537 shares in the company, valued at $286,183.41. This trade represents a 68.28 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders have sold 1,255 shares of company stock worth $663,859 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.22% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Northrop Grumman

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of NOC. Federated Hermes Inc. increased its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 24.3% in the 2nd quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 2,387 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $1,041,000 after acquiring an additional 467 shares during the last quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Northrop Grumman by 12.3% during the second quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. now owns 2,229 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $972,000 after acquiring an additional 244 shares in the last quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. boosted its stake in Northrop Grumman by 135.9% in the 2nd quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. now owns 1,333 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $581,000 after purchasing an additional 768 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its stake in Northrop Grumman by 22.4% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 683,427 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $297,937,000 after acquiring an additional 125,262 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI grew its position in shares of Northrop Grumman by 138.1% during the 2nd quarter. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI now owns 5,601 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $2,442,000 after purchasing an additional 3,249 shares in the last quarter. 83.40% of the stock is 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.