Barclays Has Lowered Expectations for Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) Stock Price

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) had its price objective decreased by investment analysts at Barclays from $550.00 to $500.00 in a report released on Monday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an “equal weight” rating on the aerospace company’s stock. Barclays‘s price objective suggests a potential upside of 9.34% from the stock’s previous close.

A number of other equities research analysts have also issued reports on NOC. StockNews.com raised shares of Northrop Grumman from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday. Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of Northrop Grumman from $521.00 to $587.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. TD Cowen raised shares of Northrop Grumman to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on Northrop Grumman from $500.00 to $540.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. Finally, UBS Group increased their price target on Northrop Grumman from $614.00 to $643.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Northrop Grumman presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $549.93.

Northrop Grumman Price Performance

Northrop Grumman stock traded down $10.53 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $457.29. The company had a trading volume of 469,064 shares, compared to its average volume of 556,896. Northrop Grumman has a 12-month low of $418.60 and a 12-month high of $555.57. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $489.68 and its 200-day simple moving average is $492.13. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.00, a current ratio of 1.09 and a quick ratio of 0.97. The company has a market capitalization of $66.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.33, a P/E/G 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 earnings per share 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 the consensus estimate of $10.18 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $6.18 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 2.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Northrop Grumman will post 25.93 EPS for the current year.

Northrop Grumman declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback program on Wednesday, December 11th that authorizes the company to buyback $3.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the aerospace company to reacquire up to 4.3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are usually an indication that the company’s board of directors 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 business’s 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 sale, the vice president now owns 537 shares in the company, valued at approximately $286,183.41. The trade was a 68.28 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders sold a total of 1,222 shares of company stock worth $648,786 over the last three months. Insiders own 0.22% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Northrop Grumman

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman by 0.4% in the third 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. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position 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 buying an additional 18,791 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman by 6.2% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 2,426,270 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $1,315,729,000 after acquiring an additional 141,816 shares in the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc increased its position in shares of Northrop Grumman by 16.0% during the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 1,087,913 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $474,276,000 after acquiring an additional 150,367 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman by 0.4% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 809,445 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $427,444,000 after acquiring an additional 3,211 shares in the last quarter. 83.40% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.