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

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

A number of other research firms also recently weighed in on NOC. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Northrop Grumman from $500.00 to $560.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, October 14th. TD Cowen raised Northrop Grumman to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. Citigroup upped their price target on Northrop Grumman from $521.00 to $587.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Barclays upped their price target on Northrop Grumman from $500.00 to $550.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 29th. Finally, Susquehanna upped their price target on Northrop Grumman from $560.00 to $625.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a research report on Friday, October 25th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Northrop Grumman has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $550.56.

Northrop Grumman Stock Performance

NOC opened at $489.20 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.00, a current ratio of 1.09 and a quick ratio of 0.97. The company has a market capitalization of $71.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.31, a P/E/G ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 0.35. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $518.57 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $487.14. Northrop Grumman has a 1 year low of $418.60 and a 1 year high of $555.57.

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

Insider Activity at Northrop Grumman

In related news, VP Benjamin R. Davies sold 1,156 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 sale, the vice president now owns 537 shares in the company, valued at approximately $286,183.41. This represents a 68.28 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 1,255 shares of company stock worth $667,727. Company insiders own 0.22% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Northrop Grumman

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its position in Northrop Grumman by 0.4% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 4,140,892 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $2,186,681,000 after buying an additional 17,596 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in Northrop Grumman by 0.6% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,003,360 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $1,581,644,000 after buying an additional 18,791 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its position in Northrop Grumman by 6.2% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 2,426,270 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $1,315,729,000 after buying an additional 141,816 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc increased its position in Northrop Grumman by 16.0% during the 2nd 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 during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in Northrop Grumman by 0.4% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 809,445 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $427,444,000 after buying an additional 3,211 shares during the period. 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.