Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) Upgraded to “Buy” at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research report released on Friday morning.

Other research analysts have also issued research reports about the company. Alembic Global Advisors raised Northrop Grumman from a neutral rating to an overweight rating and set a $532.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Monday, April 22nd. Susquehanna increased their price objective on Northrop Grumman from $540.00 to $560.00 and gave the company a positive rating in a report on Friday, April 26th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on Northrop Grumman from $483.00 to $518.00 in a report on Tuesday, June 18th. Sanford C. Bernstein lowered Northrop Grumman from an outperform rating to a market perform rating and set a $477.00 price objective on the stock. in a report on Friday, June 21st. Finally, BTIG Research initiated coverage on Northrop Grumman in a report on Wednesday, June 26th. They set a buy rating and a $565.00 price objective on the stock. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Northrop Grumman presently has an average rating of Hold and an average price target of $510.36.

Northrop Grumman Stock Up 0.1 %

NOC opened at $432.24 on Friday. Northrop Grumman has a fifty-two week low of $414.56 and a fifty-two week high of $496.89. The business has a 50-day moving average of $446.78 and a 200-day moving average of $457.09. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04, a current ratio of 1.13 and a quick ratio of 1.02. The company has a market capitalization of $63.97 billion, a PE ratio of 30.23, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.01 and a beta of 0.33.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The aerospace company reported $6.32 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.83 by $0.49. Northrop Grumman had a return on equity of 24.09% and a net margin of 5.38%. The company had revenue of $10.13 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.77 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $5.50 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 8.9% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast that Northrop Grumman will post 24.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Northrop Grumman Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 12th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 28th were issued a dividend of $2.06 per share. This represents a $8.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.91%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 24th. This is a positive change from Northrop Grumman’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.87. Northrop Grumman’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 57.62%.

Institutional Trading of Northrop Grumman

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. IAM Advisory LLC grew its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman by 2.0% during the 2nd quarter. IAM Advisory LLC now owns 3,850 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $1,678,000 after purchasing an additional 76 shares in the last quarter. Country Trust Bank grew its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman by 0.7% during the 2nd quarter. Country Trust Bank now owns 89,888 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $39,187,000 after purchasing an additional 628 shares in the last quarter. Optimum Investment Advisors grew its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman by 241.2% during the 2nd quarter. Optimum Investment Advisors now owns 58 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 41 shares in the last quarter. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Northrop Grumman during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $65,000. Finally, Opal Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Northrop Grumman during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $178,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.40% of the company’s stock.

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.