Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) Receives $542.88 Average Price Target from Analysts

Shares of Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) have received a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the eighteen brokerages that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, eight have issued a buy recommendation and one has assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month target price among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $542.88.

Several research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Susquehanna dropped their price target on shares of Northrop Grumman from $625.00 to $557.00 and set a “positive” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Northrop Grumman from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Northrop Grumman from $545.00 to $547.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Barclays lowered their target price on shares of Northrop Grumman from $550.00 to $500.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Wolfe Research upgraded shares of Northrop Grumman from an “underperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd.

Insider Transactions at Northrop Grumman

In other news, VP Benjamin R. Davies sold 464 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $460.75, for a total transaction of $213,788.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 245 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $112,883.75. This trade represents a 65.44 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Kathy J. Warden sold 3,750 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $475.65, for a total transaction of $1,783,687.50. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 212,852 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $101,243,053.80. The trade was a 1.73 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 4,505 shares of company stock valued at $2,126,405. Company insiders own 0.22% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Northrop Grumman

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in NOC. Pathstone Holdings LLC lifted its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 11.0% during the 3rd quarter. Pathstone Holdings LLC now owns 18,562 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $9,802,000 after purchasing an additional 1,844 shares during the last quarter. Moors & Cabot Inc. lifted its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 4.5% during the 3rd quarter. Moors & Cabot Inc. now owns 5,747 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $3,035,000 after purchasing an additional 245 shares during the last quarter. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI lifted its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 24.6% during the 3rd quarter. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI now owns 6,980 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $3,686,000 after purchasing an additional 1,379 shares during the last quarter. King Luther Capital Management Corp lifted its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 7.6% during the 3rd quarter. King Luther Capital Management Corp now owns 1,229 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $649,000 after purchasing an additional 87 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Intech Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 9.2% during the 3rd quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 100,430 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $53,034,000 after purchasing an additional 8,502 shares during the last quarter. 83.40% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Northrop Grumman Price Performance

Shares of NOC opened at $492.25 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a current ratio of 1.01. The firm has a market cap of $71.26 billion, a PE ratio of 17.37, a PEG ratio of 3.73 and a beta of 0.31. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $475.18 and its 200 day moving average price is $493.11. Northrop Grumman has a twelve month low of $418.60 and a twelve month high of $555.57.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The aerospace company reported $6.39 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $6.27 by $0.12. Northrop Grumman had a net margin of 10.17% and a return on equity of 26.24%. As a group, research analysts expect that Northrop Grumman will post 28.05 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Northrop Grumman Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 19th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 3rd were given a $2.06 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $8.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.67%. Northrop Grumman’s dividend payout ratio is 29.08%.

Northrop Grumman announced that its board has initiated a stock repurchase program on Wednesday, December 11th that authorizes the company to repurchase $3.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the aerospace company to purchase up to 4.3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are generally a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

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.