Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) Stock Rating Lowered by StockNews.com

StockNews.com lowered shares of Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) from a strong-buy rating to a buy rating in a report issued on Wednesday morning.

A number of other brokerages also recently issued reports on NOC. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective 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. TD Cowen upgraded Northrop Grumman to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. UBS Group increased their target price on Northrop Grumman from $614.00 to $643.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised shares of Northrop Grumman from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $474.00 to $575.00 in a report on Monday, July 29th. Finally, Susquehanna boosted their target price on shares of Northrop Grumman from $560.00 to $625.00 and gave the stock a “positive” 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $550.56.

Northrop Grumman Stock Up 0.1 %

NOC stock opened at $496.87 on Wednesday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $520.60 and its two-hundred day moving average is $486.84. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.00, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a current ratio of 1.09. The company has a market cap of $72.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.79, a P/E/G ratio of 1.00 and a beta of 0.35. Northrop Grumman has a fifty-two week low of $418.60 and a fifty-two week high of $555.57.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The aerospace company reported $7.00 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $6.07 by $0.93. Northrop Grumman had a net margin of 5.79% and a return on equity of 26.57%. The business had revenue of $10 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $10.18 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $6.18 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 2.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts forecast that Northrop Grumman will post 25.93 earnings per share for the current year.

Northrop Grumman Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 18th. Investors of record on Monday, December 2nd will be issued a $2.06 dividend. This represents a $8.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.66%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 2nd. Northrop Grumman’s payout ratio is 51.05%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, VP Benjamin R. Davies sold 1,156 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $532.93, for a total value of $616,067.08. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 537 shares in the company, valued at $286,183.41. This trade represents a 68.28 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 1,289 shares of company stock worth $685,273. Corporate insiders own 0.22% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Northrop Grumman

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Stock Yards Bank & Trust Co. raised its position in Northrop Grumman by 9.1% in the 3rd quarter. Stock Yards Bank & Trust Co. now owns 745 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $393,000 after purchasing an additional 62 shares during the period. Anchor Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 21.5% during the 3rd quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC now owns 1,504 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $794,000 after acquiring an additional 266 shares during the period. Tudor Financial Inc. bought a new position in Northrop Grumman in the 3rd quarter valued at $1,130,000. M&T Bank Corp increased its stake in Northrop Grumman by 5.4% in the third quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 19,726 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $10,417,000 after purchasing an additional 1,002 shares during the period. Finally, TD Private Client Wealth LLC lifted its position in shares of Northrop Grumman by 3.8% during the third quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC now owns 883 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $466,000 after purchasing an additional 32 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other 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.