Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) Upgraded at Royal Bank of Canada

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) was upgraded by investment analysts at Royal Bank of Canada from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Thursday,Briefing.com Automated Import reports. The brokerage presently has a $575.00 price target on the aerospace company’s stock, up from their previous price target of $500.00. Royal Bank of Canada’s price objective suggests a potential upside of 13.58% from the stock’s previous close.

A number of other research analysts also recently issued reports on NOC. UBS Group dropped their target price on shares of Northrop Grumman from $579.00 to $558.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Barclays reduced their price target on shares of Northrop Grumman from $550.00 to $500.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of Northrop Grumman from $545.00 to $547.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, March 7th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Northrop Grumman from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Wolfe Research upgraded Northrop Grumman from an “underperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $545.06.

Northrop Grumman Stock Down 0.1 %

NYSE NOC opened at $506.26 on Thursday. Northrop Grumman has a fifty-two week low of $418.60 and a fifty-two week high of $555.57. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $476.94 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $492.97. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96, a current ratio of 1.01 and a quick ratio of 0.91. The stock has a market capitalization of $73.28 billion, a PE ratio of 17.86, a PEG ratio of 3.73 and a beta of 0.31.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The aerospace company reported $6.39 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $6.27 by $0.12. Northrop Grumman had a return on equity of 26.24% and a net margin of 10.17%. Equities analysts expect that Northrop Grumman will post 28.05 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Northrop Grumman announced that its board has authorized a stock buyback plan on Wednesday, December 11th that authorizes the company to buyback $3.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the aerospace company to buy up to 4.3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are generally an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Northrop Grumman news, CEO Kathy J. Warden sold 3,750 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $475.65, for a total value of $1,783,687.50. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 212,852 shares in the company, valued at approximately $101,243,053.80. This trade represents a 1.73 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, VP Benjamin R. Davies sold 192 shares of Northrop Grumman stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $429.08, for a total transaction of $82,383.36. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 709 shares in the company, valued at $304,217.72. The trade was a 21.31 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 4,505 shares of company stock worth $2,126,405. Corporate insiders own 0.22% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Capital International Investors grew its position in shares of Northrop Grumman by 5.9% in the 4th quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 8,239,434 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $3,866,133,000 after buying an additional 461,307 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman by 28.5% during the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 2,030,644 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $952,962,000 after purchasing an additional 450,858 shares during the last quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP grew its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman by 102.6% in the third quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 735,600 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $388,448,000 after acquiring an additional 372,500 shares during the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP raised its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 337.1% in the fourth quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 482,112 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $226,250,000 after buying an additional 371,814 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in shares of Northrop Grumman during the fourth quarter valued at $171,580,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.40% of the company’s stock.

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.