Northrop Grumman Co. (NOC) to Issue Quarterly Dividend of $2.06 on March 19th

Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) declared a quarterly dividend on Tuesday, February 18th,RTT News reports. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 3rd will be given a dividend of 2.06 per share by the aerospace company on Wednesday, March 19th. This represents a $8.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.90%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 3rd.

Northrop Grumman has raised its dividend payment by an average of 9.3% per year over the last three years and has raised its dividend annually for the last 21 consecutive years. Northrop Grumman has a dividend payout ratio of 28.3% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Research analysts expect Northrop Grumman to earn $28.99 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $8.24 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 28.4%.

Northrop Grumman Trading Down 1.8 %

NOC opened at $433.63 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $62.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.30, a P/E/G ratio of 3.76 and a beta of 0.35. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $472.52 and its 200-day moving average price is $498.17. Northrop Grumman has a one year low of $418.60 and a one year high of $555.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a current ratio of 1.01.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last released its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The aerospace company reported $6.39 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.27 by $0.12. Northrop Grumman had a return on equity of 26.24% and a net margin of 10.17%. On average, equities analysts forecast that Northrop Grumman will post 28.05 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

NOC has been the topic of several research reports. Barclays reduced their price objective on Northrop Grumman from $550.00 to $500.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 6th. Citigroup raised their price objective on Northrop Grumman from $587.00 to $591.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, February 10th. UBS Group lowered their price objective on Northrop Grumman from $579.00 to $558.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Susquehanna lowered their price objective on Northrop Grumman from $625.00 to $557.00 and set a “positive” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, Truist Financial assumed coverage on Northrop Grumman in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $544.00 price objective for the company. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Northrop Grumman presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $544.56.

Northrop Grumman declared that its board has approved a stock repurchase program on Wednesday, December 11th that permits the company to buyback $3.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the aerospace company to purchase up to 4.3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are generally a sign that the company’s leadership believes its stock is 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.