Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) Price Target Raised to $591.00

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) had its price objective raised by Citigroup from $587.00 to $591.00 in a report released on Monday morning,Benzinga reports. Citigroup currently has a buy rating on the aerospace company’s stock.

NOC has been the topic of a number of other reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of Northrop Grumman from $500.00 to $560.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, October 14th. Wolfe Research raised shares of Northrop Grumman from an “underperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Barclays dropped 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 report on Monday, January 6th. Truist Financial initiated coverage on shares of Northrop Grumman in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $544.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on shares of Northrop Grumman from $595.00 to $574.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Northrop Grumman has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $544.56.

Northrop Grumman Price Performance

Shares of NOC opened at $471.25 on Monday. Northrop Grumman has a twelve month low of $418.60 and a twelve month high of $555.57. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $476.46 and its 200-day simple moving average is $499.98. The firm has a market capitalization of $68.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.63, a PEG ratio of 3.00 and a beta of 0.35. The company has a current ratio of 1.01, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The aerospace company reported $6.39 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.27 by $0.12. Northrop Grumman had a net margin of 10.17% and a return on equity of 26.24%. Equities analysts forecast that Northrop Grumman will post 27.94 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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

Northrop Grumman Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, December 18th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 2nd were given a dividend of $2.06 per share. This represents a $8.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.75%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 2nd. Northrop Grumman’s payout ratio is currently 29.08%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of NOC. Wescott Financial Advisory Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Wescott Financial Advisory Group LLC now owns 5,046 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $2,368,000 after acquiring an additional 26 shares in the last quarter. Thoroughbred Financial Services LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman by 19.2% in the fourth quarter. Thoroughbred Financial Services LLC now owns 1,163 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $546,000 after acquiring an additional 187 shares in the last quarter. Provident Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman by 16.2% in the fourth quarter. Provident Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,012 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $944,000 after acquiring an additional 280 shares in the last quarter. World Investment Advisors boosted its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman by 92.9% in the fourth quarter. World Investment Advisors now owns 2,396 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $1,124,000 after acquiring an additional 1,154 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nicolet Advisory Services LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman by 5.8% in the fourth quarter. Nicolet Advisory Services LLC now owns 529 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $243,000 after acquiring an additional 29 shares in the last quarter. 83.40% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other 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.