Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) Receives $550.56 Average Price Target from Analysts

Shares of Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) have been given an average recommendation of “Hold” by the fifteen brokerages that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and five have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 1-year price target among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $553.27.

A number of brokerages have commented on NOC. Barclays boosted their price objective on Northrop Grumman from $500.00 to $550.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 29th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on shares of Northrop Grumman from $500.00 to $540.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price 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. Citigroup raised their price target on shares of Northrop Grumman from $521.00 to $587.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, TD Cowen upgraded shares of Northrop Grumman to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th.

Northrop Grumman Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:NOC opened at $480.00 on Wednesday. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $507.90 and its 200-day moving average is $487.88. Northrop Grumman has a twelve month low of $418.60 and a twelve month high of $555.57. The company has a quick ratio of 0.97, a current ratio of 1.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.00. The firm has a market capitalization of $69.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.83, a PEG ratio of 0.96 and a beta of 0.33.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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. The firm had revenue of $10 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $10.18 billion. Northrop Grumman had a net margin of 5.79% and a return on equity of 26.57%. The business’s revenue was up 2.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $6.18 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that Northrop Grumman will post 25.93 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Northrop Grumman Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 18th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 2nd will be given a $2.06 dividend. This represents a $8.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.72%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 2nd. Northrop Grumman’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 51.05%.

Northrop Grumman declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase plan on Wednesday, December 11th that allows the company to buyback $3.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the aerospace company to purchase up to 4.3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are usually a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Activity

In other Northrop Grumman news, VP Benjamin R. Davies sold 1,156 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $532.93, for a total value of $616,067.08. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 537 shares in the company, valued at $286,183.41. The trade was a 68.28 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders sold 1,255 shares of company stock worth $666,461 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.22% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of NOC. Wedmont Private Capital lifted its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman by 5.7% during the 2nd quarter. Wedmont Private Capital now owns 1,014 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $438,000 after acquiring an additional 55 shares during the period. Diversified Trust Co boosted its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 29.8% during the second quarter. Diversified Trust Co now owns 1,962 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $855,000 after purchasing an additional 451 shares in the last quarter. ORG Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman by 641.3% in the 2nd quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 2,135 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $931,000 after purchasing an additional 1,847 shares during the period. Cornerstone Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman by 4.0% in the 2nd quarter. Cornerstone Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,368 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $596,000 after buying an additional 53 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Whitener Capital Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Northrop Grumman by 109.6% during the 2nd quarter. Whitener Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,396 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $609,000 after buying an additional 730 shares during the period. 83.40% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.