Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) Stock Rating Lowered by StockNews.com

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) was downgraded by analysts at StockNews.com from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report issued on Thursday.

Several other research analysts also recently weighed in on the company. Susquehanna boosted their price target on Northrop Grumman from $540.00 to $560.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a report on Friday, April 26th. BTIG Research began coverage on shares of Northrop Grumman in a research note on Wednesday, June 26th. They set a “buy” rating and a $565.00 price objective for the company. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Northrop Grumman from $483.00 to $518.00 in a research note on Tuesday, June 18th. Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective on shares of Northrop Grumman from $475.00 to $505.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, April 26th. Finally, 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 note on Tuesday, June 18th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $510.36.

Northrop Grumman Trading Down 0.6 %

Shares of NOC opened at $434.63 on Thursday. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $452.83 and a two-hundred day moving average of $458.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 1.13. The company has a market capitalization of $64.32 billion, a PE ratio of 30.39, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.04 and a beta of 0.33. Northrop Grumman has a fifty-two week low of $414.56 and a fifty-two week high of $496.89.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The aerospace company reported $6.32 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.83 by $0.49. The company had revenue of $10.13 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.77 billion. Northrop Grumman had a return on equity of 24.09% and a net margin of 5.38%. Northrop Grumman’s revenue was up 8.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $5.50 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that Northrop Grumman will post 24.7 EPS for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Northrop Grumman

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in NOC. Capital International Investors boosted 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. International Assets Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in Northrop Grumman in the 4th quarter valued at about $283,114,000. Cerity Partners LLC boosted its position in Northrop Grumman by 2,801.7% in the 4th quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 330,499 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $154,720,000 after buying an additional 319,109 shares during the last quarter. Focused Investors Fund L P purchased a new position in Northrop Grumman in the 1st quarter valued at about $108,369,000. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its position in Northrop Grumman by 4.8% in the 1st quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 4,634,043 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $2,218,132,000 after buying an additional 211,459 shares during the last quarter. 83.40% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.