StockNews.com Upgrades Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) to Strong-Buy

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) from a buy rating to a strong-buy rating in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday.

NOC has been the subject of several other research reports. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on shares of Northrop Grumman from $500.00 to $540.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. TD Cowen raised Northrop Grumman to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. Susquehanna increased their price objective on Northrop Grumman from $560.00 to $625.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a research report on Friday, October 25th. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Northrop Grumman from $614.00 to $643.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of Northrop Grumman from $509.00 to $565.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, October 25th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Northrop Grumman presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $550.56.

Northrop Grumman Price Performance

Shares of NYSE NOC opened at $493.88 on Tuesday. 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 business’s 50 day moving average price is $523.27 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $486.18. The company has a market cap of $71.96 billion, a PE ratio of 30.60, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.05 and a beta of 0.35. Northrop Grumman has a twelve month low of $418.60 and a twelve month high of $555.57.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The aerospace company reported $7.00 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.07 by $0.93. Northrop Grumman had a return on equity of 26.57% and a net margin of 5.79%. The business had revenue of $10 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $10.18 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $6.18 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts predict that Northrop Grumman will post 25.95 EPS for the current year.

Northrop Grumman Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 18th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 3rd were paid a $2.06 dividend. This represents a $8.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.67%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, September 3rd. Northrop Grumman’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 51.05%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Northrop Grumman news, VP Benjamin R. Davies sold 1,156 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $532.93, for a total value of $616,067.08. Following the sale, the vice president now 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 SEC, which is available at this link. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 1,289 shares of company stock valued at $685,273. 0.22% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Northrop Grumman

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Capital International Investors increased its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman by 5.6% in the first quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 11,747,646 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $5,623,128,000 after buying an additional 621,636 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman by 1,915.9% during the second quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 438,521 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $191,173,000 after purchasing an additional 416,768 shares during the period. Two Sigma Advisers LP grew its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman by 102.6% in the third quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 735,600 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $388,448,000 after purchasing an additional 372,500 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 4.8% in the first quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 4,634,043 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $2,218,132,000 after purchasing an additional 211,459 shares during the period. Finally, Manning & Napier Advisors LLC bought a new position in Northrop Grumman during the 2nd quarter worth $90,177,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.40% of the company’s stock.

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.