Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) Stock Price Expected to Rise, Barclays Analyst Says

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) had its target price increased by equities research analysts at Barclays from $500.00 to $550.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Tuesday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has an “equal weight” rating on the aerospace company’s stock. Barclays‘s price target suggests a potential upside of 8.81% from the stock’s previous close.

Other analysts have also recently issued reports about the company. StockNews.com raised Northrop Grumman from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, July 12th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded shares of Northrop Grumman from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $474.00 to $575.00 in a research report on Monday, July 29th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on shares of Northrop Grumman from $500.00 to $540.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Alembic Global Advisors downgraded shares of Northrop Grumman from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $560.00 target price on the stock. in a report on Tuesday, August 27th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of Northrop Grumman from $509.00 to $565.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $550.56.

Northrop Grumman Stock Performance

Shares of Northrop Grumman stock opened at $505.45 on Tuesday. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $523.58 and its 200-day simple moving average is $482.27. Northrop Grumman has a 12 month low of $418.60 and a 12 month high of $555.57. The stock has a market capitalization of $73.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.32, a PEG ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 0.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.00, a current ratio of 1.09 and a quick ratio of 0.97.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 24th. The aerospace company reported $7.00 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.07 by $0.93. Northrop Grumman had a net margin of 5.79% and a return on equity of 26.57%. The company had revenue of $10 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.18 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $6.18 earnings per share. Northrop Grumman’s quarterly revenue was up 2.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Northrop Grumman will post 25.87 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, VP Thomas H. Jones sold 1,390 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $500.00, for a total value of $695,000.00. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 4,634 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,317,000. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders sold a total of 1,490 shares of company stock worth $747,372 over the last 90 days. 0.22% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Northrop Grumman

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of NOC. American Capital Advisory LLC lifted its stake in Northrop Grumman by 157.6% in the 3rd quarter. American Capital Advisory LLC now owns 2,476 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $1,308,000 after buying an additional 1,515 shares in the last quarter. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman by 9.3% in the third quarter. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC now owns 2,026 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $1,070,000 after acquiring an additional 173 shares during the last quarter. Radnor Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Northrop Grumman in the third quarter valued at $2,112,000. Catalina Capital Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Northrop Grumman during the third quarter valued at $234,000. Finally, Crestwood Advisors Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman by 9.0% during the third quarter. Crestwood Advisors Group LLC now owns 813 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $429,000 after acquiring an additional 67 shares during the last quarter. 83.40% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.