UBS Group Raises Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) Price Target to $643.00

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) had its target price lifted by UBS Group from $614.00 to $643.00 in a research report sent to investors on Friday morning, Benzinga reports. UBS Group currently has a buy rating on the aerospace company’s stock.

Several other analysts have also issued reports on the company. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on Northrop Grumman from $579.00 to $592.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 9th. Barclays boosted their price objective on Northrop Grumman from $470.00 to $500.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 30th. TD Cowen upgraded shares of Northrop Grumman to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised shares of Northrop Grumman from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $474.00 to $575.00 in a research report on Monday, July 29th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on shares of Northrop Grumman from $500.00 to $540.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Friday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Northrop Grumman currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $547.44.

Northrop Grumman Price Performance

NOC opened at $519.35 on Friday. Northrop Grumman has a fifty-two week low of $418.60 and a fifty-two week high of $555.57. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $523.54 and a 200 day moving average of $481.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a current ratio of 1.11. The firm has a market cap of $76.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.32, a PEG ratio of 2.38 and a beta of 0.34.

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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.18 billion. Northrop Grumman had a net margin of 5.61% and a return on equity of 25.44%. The company’s revenue was up 2.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $6.18 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that Northrop Grumman will post 25.16 EPS for the current year.

Northrop Grumman Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 18th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 3rd were given a dividend of $2.06 per share. This represents a $8.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.59%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, September 3rd. Northrop Grumman’s payout ratio is 57.62%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, VP Thomas H. Jones sold 1,390 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $500.00, for a total transaction of $695,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 4,634 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,317,000. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders have sold 1,490 shares of company stock worth $747,372 in the last ninety days. 0.22% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Northrop Grumman

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Diversify Advisory Services LLC bought a new stake in shares of Northrop Grumman during the 1st quarter worth $870,000. Norden Group LLC bought a new stake in Northrop Grumman during the first quarter worth about $778,000. Aviso Wealth Management boosted its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman by 110.7% in the 2nd quarter. Aviso Wealth Management now owns 1,896 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $827,000 after purchasing an additional 996 shares in the last quarter. Susquehanna International Securities Ltd. bought a new position in shares of Northrop Grumman during the 2nd quarter valued at about $1,133,000. Finally, State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System raised its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman by 9.8% during the 1st quarter. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System now owns 160,328 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $74,027,000 after buying an additional 14,275 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other 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.