Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) Upgraded at TD Cowen

TD Cowen upgraded shares of Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) to a hold rating in a research note published on Tuesday, Zacks.com reports.

A number of other equities analysts also recently commented on the stock. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of Northrop Grumman from $579.00 to $592.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a report on Friday, August 9th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price objective on shares of Northrop Grumman from $530.00 to $500.00 and set a hold rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, June 18th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Northrop Grumman from $467.00 to $509.00 and gave the stock an equal weight rating in a report on Friday, July 26th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on Northrop Grumman from $475.00 to $500.00 and gave the company a sector perform rating in a research note on Friday, July 26th. Finally, UBS Group increased their price target on Northrop Grumman from $593.00 to $605.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research report on Friday, July 26th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Northrop Grumman currently has an average rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $527.19.

Northrop Grumman Stock Down 1.0 %

Shares of NYSE:NOC opened at $527.09 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $77.08 billion, a PE ratio of 34.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 0.34. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $516.44 and a 200 day simple moving average of $476.17. The company has a current ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03. Northrop Grumman has a 12-month low of $418.60 and a 12-month high of $555.57.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The aerospace company reported $6.36 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.93 by $0.43. Northrop Grumman had a net margin of 5.61% and a return on equity of 25.44%. The business had revenue of $10.22 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.02 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $5.34 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Northrop Grumman will post 25.16 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Northrop Grumman Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 18th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 3rd were paid a dividend of $2.06 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, September 3rd. This represents a $8.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.56%. Northrop Grumman’s dividend payout ratio is presently 53.79%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, VP Thomas H. Jones sold 1,390 shares of Northrop Grumman stock in a transaction on Friday, August 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $500.00, for a total transaction of $695,000.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 4,634 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,317,000. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In other Northrop Grumman news, VP Thomas H. Jones sold 1,389 shares of Northrop Grumman stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $477.56, for a total value of $663,330.84. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 6,755 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,225,917.80. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, VP Thomas H. Jones sold 1,390 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $2,317,000. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 2,879 shares of company stock worth $1,410,703 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.22% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Northrop Grumman

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Ascent Group LLC increased its stake in Northrop Grumman by 0.5% in the 2nd quarter. Ascent Group LLC now owns 4,337 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $1,891,000 after purchasing an additional 20 shares in the last quarter. Salvus Wealth Management LLC increased its position in shares of Northrop Grumman by 1.6% in the third quarter. Salvus Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,321 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $698,000 after acquiring an additional 21 shares in the last quarter. Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Northrop Grumman by 4.6% in the second quarter. Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 500 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $218,000 after acquiring an additional 22 shares in the last quarter. Oliver Lagore Vanvalin Investment Group raised its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman by 1.5% during the second quarter. Oliver Lagore Vanvalin Investment Group now owns 1,467 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $640,000 after acquiring an additional 22 shares during the period. Finally, Legacy Wealth Asset Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Northrop Grumman by 2.4% in the 1st quarter. Legacy Wealth Asset Management LLC now owns 965 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $462,000 after acquiring an additional 23 shares in the last quarter. 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.