Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC) Given Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

Shares of Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC) have earned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the twenty analysts that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, ten have issued a buy recommendation and two have assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month target price among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $704.7368.

Several equities analysts have issued reports on the company. Bank of America lifted their target price on Northrop Grumman from $685.00 to $750.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 28th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Northrop Grumman in a research note on Monday, March 23rd. BTIG Research reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $815.00 target price on shares of Northrop Grumman in a research note on Wednesday, April 22nd. Wall Street Zen lowered Northrop Grumman from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, April 25th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company assumed coverage on Northrop Grumman in a research note on Wednesday, April 1st. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $800.00 target price on the stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Northrop Grumman

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of NOC. Brighton Jones LLC grew its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman by 176.3% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 2,970 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $1,394,000 after acquiring an additional 1,895 shares during the last quarter. Bison Wealth LLC grew its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman by 5.3% during the fourth quarter. Bison Wealth LLC now owns 641 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $301,000 after acquiring an additional 32 shares during the last quarter. Woodline Partners LP grew its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman by 367.7% during the first quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 2,516 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $1,288,000 after acquiring an additional 1,978 shares during the last quarter. AXA S.A. grew its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman by 1,487.8% during the second quarter. AXA S.A. now owns 16,338 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $8,169,000 after acquiring an additional 15,309 shares during the last quarter. Finally, NewEdge Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman by 6.7% during the second quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 8,865 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $4,432,000 after acquiring an additional 553 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.40% of the company’s stock.

Northrop Grumman Price Performance

NOC opened at $556.01 on Wednesday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $636.59 and its two-hundred day moving average is $632.80. Northrop Grumman has a 1 year low of $468.29 and a 1 year high of $774.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.84, a current ratio of 1.15 and a quick ratio of 1.04. The firm has a market capitalization of $78.97 billion, a PE ratio of 17.40, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.79 and a beta of -0.11.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, April 21st. The aerospace company reported $6.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $6.06 by $0.08. Northrop Grumman had a return on equity of 24.72% and a net margin of 10.80%.The company had revenue of $9.88 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.75 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $6.06 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 4.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Northrop Grumman has set its FY 2026 guidance at 27.400-27.900 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Northrop Grumman will post 27.93 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Northrop Grumman Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 1st will be paid a dividend of $2.47 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 1st. This is a positive change from Northrop Grumman’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.31. This represents a $9.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.8%. Northrop Grumman’s payout ratio is presently 28.92%.

About Northrop Grumman

Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE: NOC) is a leading U.S.-based aerospace and defense company that designs, builds and sustains advanced systems, products and technologies for government and commercial customers. Formed through the combination of Northrop and Grumman businesses in the 1990s, the company’s portfolio spans manned and unmanned aircraft, space systems, missile defense, radar and sensor systems, and integrated command, control, communications, computers, intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (C4ISR) solutions.

The company’s work includes airframe and platform manufacturing, space hardware and satellite systems, advanced mission systems and cybersecurity services, as well as logistics, sustainment and modernization programs.