Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) Cut to Buy at StockNews.com

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) was downgraded by research analysts at StockNews.com from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report issued on Saturday.

Other equities analysts also recently issued reports about the company. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded Northrop Grumman from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $595.00 price target for the company in a report on Wednesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Northrop Grumman from $500.00 to $560.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, October 14th. Susquehanna lowered their price objective on Northrop Grumman from $625.00 to $557.00 and set a “positive” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday. Royal Bank of Canada boosted 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. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price target on Northrop Grumman from $614.00 to $643.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Northrop Grumman presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $551.40.

Northrop Grumman Stock Down 0.8 %

NOC stock opened at $458.37 on Friday. 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 company’s 50 day moving average is $484.74 and its 200 day moving average is $492.20. The stock has a market cap of $66.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.40, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 0.35. Northrop Grumman has a 1-year low of $418.60 and a 1-year 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 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 firm had revenue of $10 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $10.18 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $6.18 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 2.3% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts predict that Northrop Grumman will post 25.93 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Northrop Grumman announced that its board has initiated a stock buyback plan on Wednesday, December 11th that permits the company to repurchase $3.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the aerospace company to reacquire up to 4.3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are often a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Activity at Northrop Grumman

In other news, VP Benjamin R. Davies sold 1,156 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the vice president now directly owns 537 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $286,183.41. This represents a 68.28 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 1,255 shares of company stock worth $663,859. 0.22% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Northrop Grumman

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in NOC. Graypoint LLC raised its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman by 5.6% during the 4th quarter. Graypoint LLC now owns 2,043 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $959,000 after buying an additional 108 shares in the last quarter. Sage Capital Advisors llc increased its position in Northrop Grumman by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Sage Capital Advisors llc now owns 7,323 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $3,437,000 after buying an additional 34 shares in the last quarter. LVM Capital Management Ltd. MI boosted its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman by 4.7% during the fourth quarter. LVM Capital Management Ltd. MI now owns 32,602 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $15,300,000 after purchasing an additional 1,470 shares during the last quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman by 2.5% during the fourth quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 3,371 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $1,582,000 after purchasing an additional 82 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Baker Tilly Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman by 46.5% during the fourth quarter. Baker Tilly Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,403 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $658,000 after purchasing an additional 445 shares during the last quarter. 83.40% of the stock is 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.