Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) Issues Quarterly Earnings Results

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday. The aerospace company reported $6.36 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $5.93 by $0.43, Briefing.com reports. The business had revenue of $10.22 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.02 billion. Northrop Grumman had a net margin of 5.61% and a return on equity of 25.44%. The company’s revenue was up 6.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $5.34 EPS.

Northrop Grumman Stock Up 2.1 %

Shares of Northrop Grumman stock traded up $9.73 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $480.30. 1,164,624 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 785,878. The company has a quick ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03. Northrop Grumman has a twelve month low of $414.56 and a twelve month high of $496.89. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $441.47 and a 200-day simple moving average of $455.46. The company has a market cap of $71.08 billion, a PE ratio of 33.59, a PEG ratio of 2.16 and a beta of 0.33.

Northrop Grumman Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 12th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 28th were given a $2.06 dividend. This is a boost from Northrop Grumman’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.87. This represents a $8.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.72%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 24th. Northrop Grumman’s dividend payout ratio is presently 57.62%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective on shares of Northrop Grumman from $475.00 to $505.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, April 26th. Susquehanna boosted their price target on Northrop Grumman from $540.00 to $560.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a research report on Friday, April 26th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Northrop Grumman from $467.00 to $509.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday. Alembic Global Advisors raised Northrop Grumman from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $532.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 22nd. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Northrop Grumman from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, July 12th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $515.07.

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.