Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) Price Target Lowered to $500.00 at Barclays

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) had its price objective decreased by Barclays from $550.00 to $500.00 in a research report report published on Monday,Benzinga reports. Barclays currently has an equal weight rating on the aerospace company’s stock.

NOC has been the topic of several other research reports. TD Cowen raised shares of Northrop Grumman to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. StockNews.com upgraded Northrop Grumman from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday. UBS Group raised their target price on Northrop Grumman from $614.00 to $643.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target 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. 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 research report on Monday, October 14th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Northrop Grumman has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $549.93.

Northrop Grumman Trading Down 2.8 %

NYSE NOC opened at $454.70 on Monday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $488.53 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $492.28. The company has a current ratio of 1.09, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.00. The firm has a market capitalization of $66.25 billion, a PE ratio of 28.17, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 0.35. Northrop Grumman has a 12 month low of $418.60 and a 12 month high of $555.57.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The aerospace company reported $7.00 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $6.07 by $0.93. The business had revenue of $10 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $10.18 billion. Northrop Grumman had a return on equity of 26.57% and a net margin of 5.79%. The firm’s revenue was up 2.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $6.18 earnings per share. On average, analysts expect that Northrop Grumman will post 25.93 EPS for the current year.

Northrop Grumman Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, December 18th. Investors of record on Monday, December 2nd were given a $2.06 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 2nd. This represents a $8.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.81%. Northrop Grumman’s payout ratio is 51.05%.

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

Insider Transactions at Northrop Grumman

In related news, VP Benjamin R. Davies sold 1,156 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $532.93, for a total transaction of $616,067.08. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 537 shares in the company, valued at approximately $286,183.41. This represents a 68.28 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders sold a total of 1,222 shares of company stock valued at $648,786 over 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 have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its position in shares of Northrop Grumman by 0.4% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 4,140,892 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $2,186,681,000 after purchasing an additional 17,596 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Northrop Grumman by 0.6% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,003,360 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $1,581,644,000 after buying an additional 18,791 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its position in shares of Northrop Grumman by 6.2% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 2,426,270 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $1,315,729,000 after buying an additional 141,816 shares in the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc boosted its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman by 16.0% in the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 1,087,913 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $474,276,000 after buying an additional 150,367 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman by 0.4% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 809,445 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $427,444,000 after acquiring an additional 3,211 shares in the last quarter. 83.40% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.