Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) Coverage Initiated at Truist Financial

Investment analysts at Truist Financial assumed coverage on shares of Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) in a report released on Tuesday, MarketBeat.com reports. The brokerage set a “buy” rating and a $544.00 price target on the aerospace company’s stock. Truist Financial’s price objective points to a potential upside of 15.21% from the company’s previous close.

Several other equities research analysts also recently weighed in on NOC. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Northrop Grumman from $500.00 to $560.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, October 14th. StockNews.com lowered Northrop Grumman from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, January 11th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on shares of Northrop Grumman from $500.00 to $540.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Friday, October 25th. UBS Group raised their price target on shares of Northrop Grumman from $614.00 to $643.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Finally, TD Cowen raised shares of Northrop Grumman to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $550.94.

Northrop Grumman Stock Down 0.7 %

Shares of NOC opened at $472.19 on Tuesday. 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 has a fifty day moving average of $483.30 and a 200 day moving average of $493.62. The company has a market cap of $68.80 billion, a PE ratio of 29.26, a P/E/G ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 0.35. Northrop Grumman has a 52-week low of $418.60 and a 52-week high of $555.57.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last released 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. The firm had revenue of $10 billion during 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 revenue was up 2.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $6.18 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Northrop Grumman will post 25.93 EPS for the current year.

Northrop Grumman declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback program on Wednesday, December 11th that permits the company to repurchase $3.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the aerospace company to purchase 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 Buying and Selling at Northrop Grumman

In related news, VP Benjamin R. Davies sold 1,156 shares of the 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $286,183.41. This represents a 68.28 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 1,255 shares of company stock valued at $663,859. 0.22% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Northrop Grumman

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC purchased a new position in Northrop Grumman during the 3rd quarter worth $31,000. FSA Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Northrop Grumman in the third quarter worth about $36,000. Modus Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Northrop Grumman during the fourth quarter worth about $38,000. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Northrop Grumman during the third quarter valued at about $40,000. Finally, True Wealth Design LLC purchased a new position in shares of Northrop Grumman in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $53,000. 83.40% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Northrop Grumman Company Profile

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.