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

Shares of Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) have been assigned an average rating of “Hold” from the sixteen ratings firms that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 12-month price target among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $547.44.

A number of analysts recently commented on the stock. TD Cowen upgraded shares of Northrop Grumman to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on shares of Northrop Grumman from $500.00 to $540.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Friday. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Northrop Grumman from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, July 12th. Alembic Global Advisors cut shares of Northrop Grumman from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $560.00 price target on the stock. in a research note on Tuesday, August 27th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Northrop Grumman from $500.00 to $560.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, October 14th.

Insider Transactions at Northrop Grumman

In other news, VP Thomas H. Jones sold 1,390 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, August 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $500.00, for a total value of $695,000.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 4,634 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,317,000. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Insiders have sold 1,490 shares of company stock valued at $747,372 in the last quarter. Insiders own 0.22% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Northrop Grumman

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in NOC. Optimum Investment Advisors increased its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman by 241.2% in the 2nd quarter. Optimum Investment Advisors now owns 58 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 41 shares during the last quarter. Bank & Trust Co bought a new position in shares of Northrop Grumman during the 2nd quarter valued at $28,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman by 245.5% during the 2nd quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 76 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 54 shares during the last quarter. Riverview Trust Co bought a new position in shares of Northrop Grumman during the 1st quarter valued at $47,000. Finally, Strategic Financial Concepts LLC bought a new position in shares of Northrop Grumman during the 2nd quarter valued at $47,000. Institutional investors own 83.40% of the company’s stock.

Northrop Grumman Stock Down 0.8 %

NOC opened at $519.35 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03. The stock has a market cap of $75.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.90, a PEG ratio of 2.38 and a beta of 0.34. Northrop Grumman has a twelve month low of $418.60 and a twelve month high of $555.57. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $523.54 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $481.03.

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. The firm had revenue of $10 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $10.18 billion. Northrop Grumman had a net margin of 5.61% and a return on equity of 25.44%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 2.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $6.18 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts expect that Northrop Grumman will post 25.16 earnings per share for the current year.

Northrop Grumman Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 18th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 3rd were issued a $2.06 dividend. This represents a $8.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.59%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, September 3rd. Northrop Grumman’s payout ratio is 53.79%.

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.