Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) Stock Rating Upgraded by StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research report report published on Friday.

A number of other equities research analysts have also recently weighed in on NOC. Alembic Global Advisors raised Northrop Grumman from a neutral rating to an overweight rating and set a $532.00 price target for the company in a report on Monday, April 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Northrop Grumman from $483.00 to $518.00 in a report on Tuesday, June 18th. Sanford C. Bernstein cut Northrop Grumman from an outperform rating to a market perform rating and set a $477.00 price target for the company. in a report on Friday, June 21st. Susquehanna raised their price target on Northrop Grumman from $540.00 to $560.00 and gave the company a positive rating in a report on Friday, April 26th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on Northrop Grumman from $450.00 to $475.00 and gave the company a sector perform rating in a report on Friday, April 26th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Northrop Grumman has an average rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $510.36.

Northrop Grumman Trading Up 0.1 %

Shares of NOC opened at $432.24 on Friday. Northrop Grumman has a 1 year low of $414.56 and a 1 year high of $496.89. The company has a current ratio of 1.13, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $446.78 and a 200-day simple moving average of $456.99. The stock has a market cap of $63.97 billion, a PE ratio of 30.23, a PEG ratio of 2.02 and a beta of 0.33.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The aerospace company reported $6.32 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.83 by $0.49. Northrop Grumman had a return on equity of 24.09% and a net margin of 5.38%. The business had revenue of $10.13 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.77 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $5.50 EPS. Northrop Grumman’s quarterly revenue was up 8.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Northrop Grumman will post 24.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Northrop Grumman Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 12th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 28th were given a $2.06 dividend. This is a positive change from Northrop Grumman’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.87. This represents a $8.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.91%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 24th. Northrop Grumman’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 57.62%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. IAM Advisory LLC lifted its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 2.0% during the second quarter. IAM Advisory LLC now owns 3,850 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $1,678,000 after acquiring an additional 76 shares in the last quarter. Country Trust Bank lifted its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 0.7% during the second quarter. Country Trust Bank now owns 89,888 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $39,187,000 after acquiring an additional 628 shares in the last quarter. Optimum Investment Advisors lifted its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 241.2% during the second quarter. Optimum Investment Advisors now owns 58 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 41 shares in the last quarter. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC bought a new position in Northrop Grumman during the second quarter worth about $65,000. Finally, Opal Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in Northrop Grumman during the second quarter worth about $178,000. 83.40% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.