Brokerages Set Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) Target Price at $550.56

Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) has been assigned an average rating of “Hold” from the sixteen research firms that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 12-month price objective among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $550.56.

A number of brokerages recently commented on NOC. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of Northrop Grumman from $579.00 to $592.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, August 9th. TD Cowen upgraded Northrop Grumman to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Northrop Grumman from $509.00 to $565.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Citigroup raised their price target on Northrop Grumman from $521.00 to $587.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, Susquehanna boosted their price objective on shares of Northrop Grumman from $560.00 to $625.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a research report on Friday, October 25th.

Northrop Grumman Stock Performance

NYSE:NOC opened at $488.68 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $71.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.28, a PEG ratio of 1.00 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 stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $522.56 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $486.29. 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 announced 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 company had revenue of $10 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $10.18 billion. During the same quarter 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 anticipate that Northrop Grumman will post 25.93 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Northrop Grumman Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 18th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 3rd were issued a $2.06 dividend. This represents a $8.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.69%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, September 3rd. Northrop Grumman’s dividend payout ratio is 51.05%.

Insider Transactions at Northrop Grumman

In other Northrop Grumman news, VP Benjamin R. Davies sold 1,156 shares of the firm’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 transaction, the vice president now owns 537 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $286,183.41. This trade represents a 68.28 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In the last 90 days, insiders have 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 hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of NOC. TD Private Client Wealth LLC lifted its holdings in 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 buying an additional 32 shares during the period. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky raised its position in shares of Northrop Grumman by 19.8% in the 3rd quarter. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky now owns 26,127 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $13,798,000 after acquiring an additional 4,325 shares in the last quarter. Brown Financial Advisors purchased a new stake in shares of Northrop Grumman during the 3rd quarter worth $519,000. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Northrop Grumman by 0.6% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,003,360 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $1,581,644,000 after purchasing an additional 18,791 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Brophy Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Northrop Grumman in the third quarter valued at about $571,000. 83.40% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.