Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) Receives Average Recommendation of “Hold” from Brokerages

Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) has earned an average rating of “Hold” from the fifteen research firms that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and five have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month price objective among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $553.27.

A number of research firms have issued reports on NOC. TD Cowen raised Northrop Grumman to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective 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. UBS Group increased their target price on shares of Northrop Grumman from $614.00 to $643.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Citigroup boosted their price target on shares of Northrop Grumman from $521.00 to $587.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of Northrop Grumman from $500.00 to $560.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, October 14th.

Insider Activity

In related news, VP Benjamin R. Davies sold 1,156 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $532.93, for a total value of $616,067.08. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 537 shares in the company, valued at approximately $286,183.41. The trade was a 68.28 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 1,255 shares of company stock worth $666,461. 0.22% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Northrop Grumman

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in NOC. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC raised its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman by 13.7% during the 3rd quarter. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC now owns 330,647 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $174,605,000 after buying an additional 39,780 shares in the last quarter. Birmingham Capital Management Co. Inc. AL purchased a new position in shares of Northrop Grumman during the third quarter worth approximately $224,000. Copley Financial Group Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Northrop Grumman during the third quarter worth approximately $479,000. American Trust lifted its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman by 37.6% in the 3rd quarter. American Trust now owns 1,534 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $810,000 after acquiring an additional 419 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman by 6.2% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 2,426,270 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $1,315,729,000 after purchasing an additional 141,816 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 83.40% of the company’s stock.

Northrop Grumman Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:NOC opened at $480.29 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $69.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 0.33. The company’s 50-day moving average is $504.69 and its 200 day moving average is $488.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.00, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a current ratio of 1.09. Northrop Grumman has a fifty-two week low of $418.60 and a fifty-two 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 for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.07 by $0.93. Northrop Grumman had a net margin of 5.79% and a return on equity of 26.57%. The firm had revenue of $10 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.18 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $6.18 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 2.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Northrop Grumman will post 25.93 earnings per share for the current year.

Northrop Grumman Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 18th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 2nd will be given a dividend of $2.06 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 2nd. This represents a $8.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.72%. Northrop Grumman’s payout ratio is presently 51.05%.

Northrop Grumman declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback program on Wednesday, December 11th that authorizes the company to repurchase $3.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the aerospace company to buy up to 4.3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are often a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

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.