Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) Stock Rating Upgraded by Wells Fargo & Company

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) was upgraded by investment analysts at Wells Fargo & Company from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating in a note issued to investors on Wednesday, MarketBeat reports. The firm currently has a $595.00 price target on the aerospace company’s stock. Wells Fargo & Company‘s price objective indicates a potential upside of 28.60% from the company’s previous close.

Several other brokerages also recently issued reports on NOC. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Northrop Grumman from $500.00 to $560.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, October 14th. TD Cowen upgraded Northrop Grumman to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on Northrop Grumman from $500.00 to $540.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Northrop Grumman from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 3rd. Finally, Susquehanna upped their target price on shares of Northrop Grumman from $560.00 to $625.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Northrop Grumman has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $551.40.

Northrop Grumman Stock Up 2.3 %

Shares of NYSE NOC opened at $462.68 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.97, a current ratio of 1.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.00. The stock has a market capitalization of $67.41 billion, a PE ratio of 28.67, a P/E/G ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 0.35. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $485.71 and a 200-day moving average of $492.01. Northrop Grumman has a 52-week low of $418.60 and a 52-week high of $555.57.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The aerospace company reported $7.00 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.07 by $0.93. The business had revenue of $10 billion during 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 company’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $6.18 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that Northrop Grumman will post 25.93 EPS for the current year.

Northrop Grumman declared that its board has approved a share repurchase program on Wednesday, December 11th that allows the company to repurchase $3.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the aerospace company to reacquire up to 4.3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are usually an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling at Northrop Grumman

In other news, VP Benjamin R. Davies sold 1,156 shares of Northrop Grumman stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $532.93, for a total value of $616,067.08. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 537 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $286,183.41. The trade was a 68.28 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders sold a total of 1,255 shares of company stock worth $663,859 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.22% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Northrop Grumman

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of NOC. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC bought a new position in shares of Northrop Grumman during the third quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. grew its stake in Northrop Grumman by 245.5% during the 2nd quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 76 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 54 shares during the last quarter. FSA Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Northrop Grumman in the third quarter worth $36,000. Modus Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Northrop Grumman in the fourth quarter valued at $38,000. Finally, Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Northrop Grumman during the third quarter valued at $40,000. Institutional investors own 83.40% of the company’s stock.

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.