Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Hold” by Analysts

Shares of Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) have been assigned an average recommendation of “Hold” from the fifteen research firms that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 12 month price objective among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $523.20.

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on NOC shares. UBS Group upped their target price on Northrop Grumman from $593.00 to $605.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, July 26th. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price objective on shares of Northrop Grumman from $530.00 to $500.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, June 18th. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of Northrop Grumman from $579.00 to $592.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 9th. BTIG Research assumed coverage on Northrop Grumman in a research note on Wednesday, June 26th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $565.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised shares of Northrop Grumman from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $474.00 to $575.00 in a report on Monday, July 29th.

Northrop Grumman Trading Up 0.7 %

NOC opened at $523.21 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $76.51 billion, a PE ratio of 36.59, a P/E/G ratio of 2.40 and a beta of 0.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03, a current ratio of 1.11 and a quick ratio of 0.99. Northrop Grumman has a fifty-two week low of $414.56 and a fifty-two week high of $523.62. The company’s 50-day moving average is $469.50 and its 200 day moving average is $462.97.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The aerospace company reported $6.36 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.93 by $0.43. The company had revenue of $10.22 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.02 billion. Northrop Grumman had a return on equity of 25.44% and a net margin of 5.61%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $5.34 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that Northrop Grumman will post 25.15 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Northrop Grumman Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 18th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 3rd will be issued a dividend of $2.06 per share. This represents a $8.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.57%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 3rd. Northrop Grumman’s payout ratio is 57.62%.

Insider Activity at Northrop Grumman

In related news, VP Thomas H. Jones sold 1,389 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, July 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $477.56, for a total value of $663,330.84. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 6,755 shares in the company, valued at $3,225,917.80. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, VP Thomas H. Jones sold 1,389 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $477.56, for a total value of $663,330.84. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 6,755 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,225,917.80. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, VP Thomas H. Jones sold 1,390 shares of Northrop Grumman stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $500.00, for a total transaction of $695,000.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 4,634 shares in the company, valued at $2,317,000. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.22% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Northrop Grumman

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman by 960.0% in the fourth quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 53 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 48 shares during the last quarter. Optimum Investment Advisors raised its stake in Northrop Grumman by 241.2% in the second quarter. Optimum Investment Advisors now owns 58 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 41 shares in the last quarter. Bank & Trust Co bought a new stake in Northrop Grumman during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Northrop Grumman during the 4th quarter worth approximately $29,000. Finally, Meeder Asset Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Northrop Grumman by 245.5% in the 2nd quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 76 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 54 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 83.40% of the company’s stock.

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.