Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) Rating Lowered to Buy at StockNews.com

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

Several other analysts have also recently commented on the stock. Alembic Global Advisors cut 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 note on Tuesday, August 27th. Susquehanna boosted their target price on Northrop Grumman from $560.00 to $625.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Northrop Grumman from $500.00 to $550.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 29th. Citigroup boosted their price target on Northrop Grumman from $521.00 to $587.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Northrop Grumman from $500.00 to $560.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, October 14th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Northrop Grumman presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $550.56.

Northrop Grumman Stock Up 0.9 %

Shares of NYSE:NOC opened at $496.41 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.09, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.00. Northrop Grumman has a twelve month low of $418.60 and a twelve month high of $555.57. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $521.05 and a 200-day simple moving average of $486.55. The company has a market capitalization of $72.33 billion, a PE ratio of 30.76, a P/E/G ratio of 0.99 and a beta of 0.35.

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Northrop Grumman

In other news, VP Benjamin R. Davies sold 1,156 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 approximately $286,183.41. The trade was a 68.28 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders have sold 1,289 shares of company stock worth $685,273 in the last ninety days. 0.22% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Northrop Grumman

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Anchor Investment Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Northrop Grumman by 21.5% during the 3rd quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC now owns 1,504 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $794,000 after purchasing an additional 266 shares in the last quarter. Tudor Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Northrop Grumman during the 3rd quarter valued at $1,130,000. M&T Bank Corp boosted its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman by 5.4% during the 3rd quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 19,726 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $10,417,000 after acquiring an additional 1,002 shares in the last quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC grew its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman by 3.8% in the 3rd quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC now owns 883 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $466,000 after acquiring an additional 32 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky raised its position in shares of Northrop Grumman by 19.8% during the third 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 purchasing an additional 4,325 shares during the period. 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.