Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) Stock Rating Upgraded by StockNews.com

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) was upgraded by equities research analysts at StockNews.com from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report issued on Friday.

Several other analysts have also issued reports on NOC. TD Cowen raised Northrop Grumman to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on shares of Northrop Grumman from $565.00 to $505.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Susquehanna boosted their target price on shares of Northrop Grumman from $560.00 to $625.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Barclays increased their price target 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. Finally, Citigroup boosted their price objective 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. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $553.27.

Northrop Grumman Trading Down 0.0 %

NOC stock opened at $467.82 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.00, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a current ratio of 1.09. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $489.68 and its 200 day simple moving average is $491.21. Northrop Grumman has a 52 week low of $418.60 and a 52 week high of $555.57. The company has a market capitalization of $68.16 billion, a PE ratio of 28.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 0.35.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last posted 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 the consensus estimate 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 for the quarter was up 2.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $6.18 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Northrop Grumman will post 25.93 earnings per share for the current year.

Northrop Grumman announced that its board has authorized a share 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 purchase up to 4.3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are generally a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling at Northrop Grumman

In other news, VP Benjamin R. Davies sold 1,156 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, November 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $532.93, for a total transaction of $616,067.08. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 537 shares in the company, valued at $286,183.41. This represents a 68.28 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 1,255 shares of company stock worth $666,461. 0.22% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Northrop Grumman

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Cozad Asset Management Inc. lifted its stake in Northrop Grumman by 34.4% in the second quarter. Cozad Asset Management Inc. now owns 703 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $306,000 after buying an additional 180 shares during the period. Larson Financial Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman by 101.9% during the second quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 208 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $91,000 after buying an additional 105 shares during the last quarter. Stablepoint Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Northrop Grumman by 11.8% during the second quarter. Stablepoint Partners LLC now owns 2,157 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $1,030,000 after acquiring an additional 228 shares in the last quarter. TD Asset Management Inc raised its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman by 0.5% in the 2nd quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 57,901 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $25,242,000 after acquiring an additional 271 shares during the last quarter. Finally, National Bank of Canada FI lifted its position in Northrop Grumman by 13.3% in the 2nd quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 61,877 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $26,914,000 after acquiring an additional 7,280 shares in the last quarter. 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.