Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) Upgraded to “Overweight” at Wells Fargo & Company

Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) from an equal weight rating to an overweight rating in a report released on Wednesday morning, Marketbeat reports. Wells Fargo & Company currently has $595.00 target price on the aerospace company’s stock.

Several other research analysts have also commented on the stock. Citigroup increased their price target on shares of Northrop Grumman from $521.00 to $587.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Northrop Grumman from $500.00 to $560.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, October 14th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on Northrop Grumman from $500.00 to $540.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. TD Cowen raised Northrop Grumman to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. Finally, Susquehanna upped their price objective 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. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Northrop Grumman presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $551.40.

Northrop Grumman Trading Down 0.8 %

Northrop Grumman stock opened at $458.37 on Wednesday. Northrop Grumman has a 12 month low of $418.60 and a 12 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 stock has a market cap of $66.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.40, a P/E/G ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 0.35. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $484.74 and its 200-day simple moving average is $492.20.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The aerospace company reported $7.00 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $6.07 by $0.93. The company had revenue of $10 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.18 billion. Northrop Grumman had a return on equity of 26.57% and a net margin of 5.79%. The business’s revenue was up 2.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $6.18 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Northrop Grumman will post 25.93 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Northrop Grumman Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, December 18th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 2nd were paid a $2.06 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 2nd. This represents a $8.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.80%. Northrop Grumman’s dividend payout ratio is presently 51.05%.

Northrop Grumman declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Wednesday, December 11th that permits the company to buyback $3.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the aerospace company to purchase up to 4.3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are often a sign that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling at Northrop Grumman

In related news, VP Benjamin R. Davies sold 1,156 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $532.93, for a total transaction of $616,067.08. Following 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders have sold a total of 1,255 shares of company stock worth $663,859 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.22% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Northrop Grumman

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in NOC. Ascent Group LLC boosted its position in Northrop Grumman by 0.5% in the 2nd quarter. Ascent Group LLC now owns 4,337 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $1,891,000 after buying an additional 20 shares during the last quarter. Cornell Pochily Investment Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 0.9% in the third quarter. Cornell Pochily Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 2,141 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $1,131,000 after acquiring an additional 20 shares during the last quarter. Asset Dedication LLC increased its position in Northrop Grumman by 1.0% in the third quarter. Asset Dedication LLC now owns 2,025 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $1,069,000 after purchasing an additional 20 shares during the period. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 1.4% during the 3rd quarter. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC now owns 1,478 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $780,000 after purchasing an additional 20 shares during the last quarter. Finally, PBMares Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman by 0.5% in the 3rd quarter. PBMares Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,421 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $2,335,000 after purchasing an additional 20 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors 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.