Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) PT Raised to $592.00 at Morgan Stanley

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) had its target price hoisted by Morgan Stanley from $579.00 to $592.00 in a research note released on Friday morning, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an overweight rating on the aerospace company’s stock.

A number of other brokerages have also weighed in on NOC. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised Northrop Grumman from a hold rating to a buy rating and upped their target price for the stock from $474.00 to $575.00 in a research report on Monday, July 29th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Northrop Grumman from a hold rating to a buy rating in a report on Friday, July 12th. TD Cowen upped their price objective on shares of Northrop Grumman from $440.00 to $515.00 and gave the stock a hold rating in a report on Monday, July 29th. BTIG Research initiated coverage on shares of Northrop Grumman in a report on Wednesday, June 26th. They set a buy rating and a $565.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price objective on shares of Northrop Grumman from $530.00 to $500.00 and set a hold rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, June 18th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Northrop Grumman currently has an average rating of Hold and an average price target of $521.33.

Northrop Grumman Stock Up 1.5 %

Northrop Grumman stock opened at $501.66 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $74.24 billion, a PE ratio of 35.08, a PEG ratio of 2.26 and a beta of 0.32. Northrop Grumman has a 12-month low of $414.56 and a 12-month high of $506.83. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $448.04 and its 200 day moving average is $456.87. The company has a quick ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 25th. The aerospace company reported $6.36 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.93 by $0.43. Northrop Grumman had a net margin of 5.61% and a return on equity of 25.44%. The firm had revenue of $10.22 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.02 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $5.34 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 6.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Northrop Grumman will post 25.18 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Northrop Grumman

In related news, VP Thomas H. Jones sold 1,390 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $500.00, for a total transaction of $695,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 4,634 shares in the company, valued at $2,317,000. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. In related news, VP Thomas H. Jones sold 1,389 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $477.56, for a total transaction of $663,330.84. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 6,755 shares in the company, valued at $3,225,917.80. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, VP Thomas H. Jones sold 1,390 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $500.00, for a total transaction of $695,000.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 4,634 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,317,000. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.22% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Northrop Grumman

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board boosted its position in Northrop Grumman by 113.6% during the second quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 296,844 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $129,409,000 after purchasing an additional 157,854 shares during the period. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. boosted its position in Northrop Grumman by 4.5% during the second quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. now owns 2,206 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $961,000 after purchasing an additional 95 shares during the period. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its position in Northrop Grumman by 2.9% during the second quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 1,071 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $467,000 after purchasing an additional 30 shares during the period. Intech Investment Management LLC boosted its position in Northrop Grumman by 96.5% during the second quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 91,928 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $40,076,000 after purchasing an additional 45,151 shares during the period. Finally, XTX Topco Ltd boosted its position in Northrop Grumman by 8.1% during the second quarter. XTX Topco Ltd now owns 3,272 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $1,426,000 after purchasing an additional 244 shares during the period. 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.