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

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) was upgraded by investment analysts at StockNews.com from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Friday.

Several other analysts have also issued reports on the stock. Alembic Global Advisors lowered shares of Northrop Grumman from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $560.00 target price for the company. in a research report on Tuesday, August 27th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on Northrop Grumman from $509.00 to $565.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Susquehanna increased 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. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Northrop Grumman from $500.00 to $550.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 29th. Finally, UBS Group increased 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. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $550.56.

Northrop Grumman Price Performance

NYSE NOC opened at $473.65 on Friday. Northrop Grumman has a one year low of $418.60 and a one year high of $555.57. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $512.54 and a 200 day moving average of $487.74. 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 capitalization of $69.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.35, a PEG ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 0.33.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The aerospace company reported $7.00 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.07 by $0.93. The business had revenue of $10 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.18 billion. Northrop Grumman had a net margin of 5.79% and a return on equity of 26.57%. The firm’s revenue was up 2.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $6.18 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Northrop Grumman will post 25.93 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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. Insiders sold 1,255 shares of company stock valued at $666,461 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.22% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Northrop Grumman

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Van ECK Associates Corp lifted its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman by 1,915.9% during the 2nd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 438,521 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $191,173,000 after acquiring an additional 416,768 shares during the last quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP grew its position in Northrop Grumman by 102.6% in the 3rd quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 735,600 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $388,448,000 after acquiring an additional 372,500 shares during the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP purchased a new stake in Northrop Grumman in the second quarter worth $74,206,000. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board lifted its position in shares of Northrop Grumman by 113.6% during the second quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 296,844 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $129,409,000 after purchasing an additional 157,854 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc boosted its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman by 16.0% during the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 1,087,913 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $474,276,000 after purchasing an additional 150,367 shares during the period. 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.