Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) Now Covered by StockNews.com

StockNews.com initiated coverage on shares of Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC – Get Rating) in a research note issued to investors on Thursday. The brokerage issued a buy rating on the aerospace company’s stock.

Several other research firms also recently issued reports on NOC. Wolfe Research downgraded Northrop Grumman from an outperform rating to a peer perform rating in a research note on Friday, January 27th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on Northrop Grumman from $460.00 to $470.00 and gave the company an equal weight rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 31st. Bank of America lowered their price objective on Northrop Grumman from $700.00 to $655.00 in a research note on Sunday, January 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on Northrop Grumman from $465.00 to $400.00 and set a neutral rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 27th. Finally, Susquehanna decreased their target price on shares of Northrop Grumman from $615.00 to $535.00 and set a positive rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 27th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of Hold and an average target price of $508.13.

Northrop Grumman Trading Down 1.5 %

Shares of Northrop Grumman stock opened at $443.60 on Thursday. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $460.85 and a 200-day moving average of $494.53. The stock has a market cap of $67.48 billion, a PE ratio of 14.08, a PEG ratio of 5.92 and a beta of 0.51. Northrop Grumman has a 52-week low of $424.35 and a 52-week high of $556.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a current ratio of 1.08.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC – Get Rating) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, January 26th. The aerospace company reported $7.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.57 by $0.93. The company had revenue of $10 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.64 billion. Northrop Grumman had a net margin of 13.38% and a return on equity of 28.29%. Northrop Grumman’s quarterly revenue was up 16.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $6.00 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Northrop Grumman will post 22.04 EPS for the current year.

Northrop Grumman Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 15th. Investors of record on Monday, February 27th were given a $1.73 dividend. This represents a $6.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.56%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 24th. Northrop Grumman’s payout ratio is currently 21.96%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CAO Michael A. Hardesty sold 1,178 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $467.81, for a total transaction of $551,080.18. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 2,737 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,280,395.97. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, CAO Michael A. Hardesty sold 1,178 shares of Northrop Grumman stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $467.81, for a total value of $551,080.18. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 2,737 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,280,395.97. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, VP David T. Perry sold 3,999 shares of Northrop Grumman stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $469.65, for a total value of $1,878,130.35. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 8,717 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,093,939.05. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 10,534 shares of company stock valued at $4,934,622 in the last ninety days. 0.25% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Northrop Grumman

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Grayhawk Investment Strategies Inc. bought a new position in Northrop Grumman in the 2nd quarter worth about $25,000. EWG Elevate Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Northrop Grumman during the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Bbjs Financial Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Northrop Grumman during the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Northrop Grumman during the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. Finally, Capital Directions Investment Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Northrop Grumman during the 4th quarter valued at about $30,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.32% of the company’s stock.

About Northrop Grumman

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Northrop Grumman Corp. engages in the provision of advanced aircraft systems. It operates through the following segments: Aeronautics Systems, Defense Systems, Mission Systems, and Space Systems. The Aeronautics Systems segment is involved in the design, development, production, integration, sustainment, and modernization of advanced aircraft systems for the U.S.