Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) Rating Increased to Strong-Buy at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) from a buy rating to a strong-buy rating in a report released on Sunday.

A number of other brokerages also recently commented on NOC. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Northrop Grumman from $614.00 to $643.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. TD Cowen raised shares of Northrop Grumman to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on shares of Northrop Grumman from $500.00 to $540.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded Northrop Grumman from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $595.00 price objective for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, Susquehanna dropped their target price on Northrop Grumman from $625.00 to $557.00 and set a “positive” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $550.94.

Northrop Grumman Trading Up 4.5 %

NYSE:NOC opened at $504.16 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $73.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.24, a P/E/G ratio of 0.91 and a beta of 0.35. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $479.52 and a 200-day simple moving average of $494.82. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.00, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a current ratio of 1.09. Northrop Grumman has a one year low of $418.60 and a one year high of $555.57.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The aerospace company reported $7.00 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.07 by $0.93. The company had revenue of $10 billion during 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%. Northrop Grumman’s revenue was up 2.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $6.18 earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that Northrop Grumman will post 25.95 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Northrop Grumman declared that its board has initiated a share repurchase plan on Wednesday, December 11th that allows the company to buyback $3.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the aerospace company to repurchase up to 4.3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are typically a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Northrop Grumman Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed 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 of this dividend was Monday, December 2nd. This represents a $8.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.63%. Northrop Grumman’s payout ratio is currently 51.05%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Northrop Grumman

In other Northrop Grumman news, VP Benjamin R. Davies sold 1,156 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $532.93, for a total value of $616,067.08. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 537 shares in the company, valued at approximately $286,183.41. This represents a 68.28 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 1,255 shares of company stock valued at $663,859. 0.22% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Northrop Grumman

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Trinity Street Asset Management LLP increased its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 3.8% in the fourth quarter. Trinity Street Asset Management LLP now owns 48,367 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $22,698,000 after buying an additional 1,786 shares in the last quarter. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Northrop Grumman in the 3rd quarter valued at about $604,000. Fisher Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 2.6% in the 3rd quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 212,514 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $112,222,000 after purchasing an additional 5,334 shares during the period. AIA Group Ltd raised its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 20.0% in the 3rd quarter. AIA Group Ltd now owns 7,458 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $3,938,000 after purchasing an additional 1,242 shares during the period. Finally, Aviso Wealth Management boosted its position in Northrop Grumman by 110.7% during the second quarter. Aviso Wealth Management now owns 1,896 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $827,000 after purchasing an additional 996 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.