Northrop Grumman Co. (NOC) To Go Ex-Dividend on March 3rd

Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) announced a quarterly dividend on Tuesday, February 18th, RTT News reports. Investors of record on Monday, March 3rd will be paid a dividend of 2.06 per share by the aerospace company on Wednesday, March 19th. This represents a $8.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.78%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 3rd.

Northrop Grumman has increased its dividend by an average of 9.3% annually over the last three years and has increased its dividend annually for the last 21 consecutive years. Northrop Grumman has a dividend payout ratio of 28.5% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities research analysts expect Northrop Grumman to earn $28.99 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 28.4%.

Northrop Grumman Stock Performance

Shares of NOC opened at $461.74 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $469.44 and its 200 day simple moving average is $496.22. The stock has a market capitalization of $66.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.73 and a beta of 0.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a current ratio of 1.01. Northrop Grumman has a 52-week low of $418.60 and a 52-week high of $555.57.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The aerospace company reported $6.39 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.27 by $0.12. Northrop Grumman had a return on equity of 26.24% and a net margin of 10.17%. Research analysts forecast that Northrop Grumman will post 28.05 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

NOC has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Citigroup upped their target price on Northrop Grumman from $587.00 to $591.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Barclays decreased their target price on Northrop Grumman from $550.00 to $500.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Argus upgraded Northrop Grumman to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday. StockNews.com lowered Northrop Grumman from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, UBS Group reduced their price objective on Northrop Grumman from $579.00 to $558.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $542.75.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Northrop Grumman news, VP Benjamin R. Davies sold 192 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $429.08, for a total value of $82,383.36. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 709 shares in the company, valued at approximately $304,217.72. This trade represents a 21.31 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders have sold a total of 291 shares of company stock worth $129,184 in the last ninety days. 0.22% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Northrop Grumman declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase program on Wednesday, December 11th that allows the company to repurchase $3.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the aerospace company to purchase up to 4.3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are generally a sign that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

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.