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

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

NOC has been the topic of several other reports. TD Cowen raised shares of Northrop Grumman to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. Alembic Global Advisors downgraded Northrop Grumman from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $560.00 price target on the stock. in a report on Tuesday, August 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on Northrop Grumman from $500.00 to $560.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, October 14th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on Northrop Grumman from $565.00 to $505.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Finally, UBS Group increased their price target 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. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $553.27.

Northrop Grumman Trading Down 0.3 %

Shares of NYSE NOC opened at $480.00 on Friday. Northrop Grumman has a twelve month low of $418.60 and a twelve month high of $555.57. 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 has a fifty day simple moving average of $506.77 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $488.49. The firm has a market cap of $69.93 billion, a PE ratio of 29.74, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.96 and a beta of 0.33.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 24th. The aerospace company reported $7.00 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.07 by $0.93. The company had revenue of $10 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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 for the quarter was up 2.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $6.18 earnings per share. Analysts expect that Northrop Grumman will post 25.93 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Northrop Grumman

In related news, VP Benjamin R. Davies sold 1,156 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 11th. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at $286,183.41. The trade was a 68.28 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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 1,255 shares of company stock worth $666,461. 0.22% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Northrop Grumman

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Van ECK Associates Corp raised its position in 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 valued at $191,173,000 after acquiring an additional 416,768 shares in the last quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP increased its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman by 102.6% during the 3rd quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 735,600 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $388,448,000 after purchasing an additional 372,500 shares in the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP purchased a new position in shares of Northrop Grumman during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $74,206,000. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board lifted its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman by 113.6% in the 2nd quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 296,844 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $129,409,000 after purchasing an additional 157,854 shares during the period. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc boosted its holdings in 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 worth $474,276,000 after buying an additional 150,367 shares in the last quarter. 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.