Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) Upgraded at Citigroup

Citigroup upgraded shares of Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) from a neutral rating to a buy rating in a research report sent to investors on Tuesday, Marketbeat Ratings reports. The brokerage currently has $587.00 target price on the aerospace company’s stock.

NOC has been the subject of several other research reports. Barclays reduced their price objective on shares of Northrop Grumman from $550.00 to $500.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 6th. TD Cowen upgraded shares of Northrop Grumman to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. StockNews.com upgraded Northrop Grumman from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Sunday, January 19th. Truist Financial assumed coverage on Northrop Grumman in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $544.00 target price for the company. Finally, UBS Group raised their price target on Northrop Grumman from $614.00 to $643.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Northrop Grumman has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $550.94.

Northrop Grumman Stock Down 0.6 %

Shares of NYSE NOC opened at $499.56 on Tuesday. The business has a 50-day moving average of $478.61 and a two-hundred day moving average of $495.36. The company has a market capitalization of $72.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.95, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.95 and a beta of 0.35. Northrop Grumman has a 1 year low of $418.60 and a 1 year high of $555.57. 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 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. The firm 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 firm’s revenue was up 2.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $6.18 earnings per share. On average, analysts forecast that Northrop Grumman will post 25.95 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Northrop Grumman Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, December 18th. Investors of record on Monday, December 2nd were given a $2.06 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 2nd. This represents a $8.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.65%. Northrop Grumman’s payout ratio is currently 51.05%.

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

Insider Activity

In related news, VP Benjamin R. Davies sold 1,156 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $532.93, for a total transaction of $616,067.08. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 537 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $286,183.41. The trade was a 68.28 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Insiders sold 1,255 shares of company stock valued at $663,859 in the last three months. 0.22% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Northrop Grumman

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of NOC. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC purchased a new position in Northrop Grumman during the 3rd quarter valued at about $31,000. FSA Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Northrop Grumman in the third quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Albion Financial Group UT purchased a new position in shares of Northrop Grumman during the 4th quarter worth approximately $33,000. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Northrop Grumman during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $40,000. Finally, Modus Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Northrop Grumman during the 4th quarter worth approximately $38,000. 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.