Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) Receives $550.56 Consensus PT from Analysts

Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) has earned a consensus rating of “Hold” from the sixteen research firms that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, ten have given a hold recommendation and five have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month target price among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $550.56.

NOC has been the topic of several analyst reports. TD Cowen upgraded Northrop Grumman to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Northrop Grumman from $500.00 to $560.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, October 14th. Susquehanna boosted their price target on Northrop Grumman from $560.00 to $625.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target 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. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price target on Northrop Grumman from $614.00 to $643.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, October 25th.

Northrop Grumman Stock Performance

Shares of NOC stock opened at $496.93 on Friday. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $520.60 and its 200 day simple moving average is $486.74. Northrop Grumman has a one year low of $418.60 and a one year high of $555.57. The stock has a market capitalization of $72.40 billion, a PE ratio of 30.79, a PEG ratio of 1.00 and a beta of 0.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.00, a current ratio of 1.09 and a quick ratio of 0.97.

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

Northrop Grumman Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 18th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 2nd will be given a dividend of $2.06 per share. This represents a $8.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.66%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 2nd. Northrop Grumman’s payout ratio is 51.05%.

Insider Activity at Northrop Grumman

In related news, VP Benjamin R. Davies sold 1,156 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, November 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $532.93, for a total value of $616,067.08. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 537 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $286,183.41. This represents a 68.28 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In the last three months, insiders sold 1,289 shares of company stock valued at $685,273. 0.22% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Northrop Grumman

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Capital International Investors raised its position in Northrop Grumman by 5.6% in the 1st quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 11,747,646 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $5,623,128,000 after buying an additional 621,636 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its stake in Northrop Grumman by 0.4% in the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 4,140,892 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $2,186,681,000 after purchasing an additional 17,596 shares during the period. Capital World Investors grew its stake in Northrop Grumman by 0.6% in the 1st quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 3,688,511 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $1,765,543,000 after purchasing an additional 23,398 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Northrop Grumman by 0.6% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,003,360 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $1,581,644,000 after purchasing an additional 18,791 shares during the period. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc grew its stake in Northrop Grumman by 16.0% in the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 1,087,913 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $474,276,000 after purchasing an additional 150,367 shares during the period. 83.40% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other 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.