Susquehanna Cuts Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) Price Target to $557.00

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) had its price target reduced by Susquehanna from $625.00 to $557.00 in a research report report published on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. They currently have a positive rating on the aerospace company’s stock.

A number of other brokerages also recently commented on NOC. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on Northrop Grumman from $500.00 to $540.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Friday, October 25th. TD Cowen raised shares of Northrop Grumman to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of Northrop Grumman from $500.00 to $560.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, October 14th. Wells Fargo & Company raised Northrop Grumman from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $595.00 target price on the stock in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Citigroup lifted their price target on Northrop Grumman from $521.00 to $587.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Northrop Grumman has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $551.40.

Northrop Grumman Trading Down 0.8 %

NYSE NOC opened at $458.37 on Wednesday. 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 firm has a market cap of $66.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.40, a PEG ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 0.35. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $484.74 and a 200-day simple moving average of $492.20. Northrop Grumman has a one year low of $418.60 and a one year high of $555.57.

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

Northrop Grumman announced that its board has approved a stock buyback plan on Wednesday, December 11th that authorizes the company to buyback $3.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the aerospace company to purchase up to 4.3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are often an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Northrop Grumman Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, December 18th. Investors of record on Monday, December 2nd were issued a dividend of $2.06 per share. This represents a $8.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.80%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 2nd. Northrop Grumman’s dividend payout ratio is currently 51.05%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other 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 completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 537 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $286,183.41. This represents a 68.28 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 1,255 shares of company stock valued at $663,859. 0.22% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC purchased a new stake in Northrop Grumman during the second quarter worth about $47,000. Caprock Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman by 65.9% during the 2nd quarter. Caprock Group LLC now owns 2,561 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $1,117,000 after acquiring an additional 1,017 shares in the last quarter. Oak Thistle LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Northrop Grumman in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $216,000. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC acquired a new position in Northrop Grumman during the second quarter worth $61,000. Finally, Prudential PLC boosted its position in Northrop Grumman by 178.8% during the second quarter. Prudential PLC now owns 7,921 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $3,453,000 after purchasing an additional 5,080 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other 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.