Northrop Grumman Co. Plans Quarterly Dividend of $2.06 (NYSE:NOC)

Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) declared a quarterly dividend on Wednesday, August 21st, Wall Street Journal reports. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 3rd will be paid a dividend of 2.06 per share by the aerospace company on Wednesday, September 18th. This represents a $8.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.57%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 3rd.

Northrop Grumman has increased its dividend payment by an average of 9.0% annually over the last three years and has raised its dividend annually for the last 21 consecutive years. Northrop Grumman has a payout ratio of 29.7% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities research analysts expect Northrop Grumman to earn $27.75 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $8.24 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 29.7%.

Northrop Grumman Stock Performance

Shares of Northrop Grumman stock opened at $523.21 on Monday. Northrop Grumman has a 52 week low of $414.56 and a 52 week high of $523.62. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $469.50 and its 200-day simple moving average is $463.09. The firm has a market cap of $77.43 billion, a PE ratio of 36.59, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.40 and a beta of 0.32. 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 posted its earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The aerospace company reported $6.36 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $5.93 by $0.43. Northrop Grumman had a return on equity of 25.44% and a net margin of 5.61%. 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 company earned $5.34 EPS. Northrop Grumman’s revenue was up 6.7% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts forecast that Northrop Grumman will post 25.15 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, VP Thomas H. Jones sold 1,390 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $500.00, for a total value of $695,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 4,634 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,317,000. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, VP Thomas H. Jones sold 1,390 shares of Northrop Grumman stock in a transaction on Friday, August 2nd. The stock was 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 directly owns 4,634 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,317,000. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, VP Thomas H. Jones sold 1,389 shares of Northrop Grumman stock in a transaction on Friday, July 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $477.56, for a total value of $663,330.84. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 6,755 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,225,917.80. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.22% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. TD Cowen increased their price target on Northrop Grumman from $440.00 to $515.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, July 29th. Alembic Global Advisors downgraded Northrop Grumman from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $560.00 price objective on the stock. in a report on Tuesday, August 27th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on Northrop Grumman from $475.00 to $500.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Friday, July 26th. Barclays increased their price objective on Northrop Grumman from $470.00 to $500.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 30th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein downgraded Northrop Grumman from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and set a $477.00 price objective on the stock. in a report on Friday, June 21st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Northrop Grumman has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $523.20.

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.