Investment Analysts’ Weekly Ratings Updates for Northrop Grumman (NOC)

A number of firms have modified their ratings and price targets on shares of Northrop Grumman (NYSE: NOC) recently:

• 4/30/2024 – Northrop Grumman had its price target raised by analysts at Wells Fargo & Company from $483.00 to $518.00. They now have an “equal weight” rating on the stock.
• 4/26/2024 – Northrop Grumman had its price target raised by analysts at Royal Bank of Canada from $450.00 to $475.00. They now have a “sector perform” rating on the stock.
• 4/26/2024 – Northrop Grumman had its price target raised by analysts at Susquehanna from $540.00 to $560.00. They now have a “positive” rating on the stock.
• 4/26/2024 – Northrop Grumman had its price target raised by analysts at Robert W. Baird from $475.00 to $505.00. They now have a “neutral” rating on the stock.
• 4/26/2024 – Northrop Grumman was upgraded by analysts at StockNews.com from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating.
• 4/22/2024 – Northrop Grumman was upgraded by analysts at Alembic Global Advisors from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating. They now have a $532.00 price target on the stock.

Northrop Grumman Trading Down 1.5 %

NOC traded down $7.32 on Thursday, hitting $479.05. The company had a trading volume of 260,935 shares, compared to its average volume of 995,469. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $464.44 and its 200 day moving average price is $465.89. Northrop Grumman Co. has a 1 year low of $414.56 and a 1 year high of $496.89. The company has a current ratio of 1.13, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04. The firm has a market cap of $70.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.50, a PEG ratio of 1.99 and a beta of 0.34.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The aerospace company reported $6.32 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.83 by $0.49. The business had revenue of $10.13 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.77 billion. Northrop Grumman had a net margin of 5.38% and a return on equity of 24.09%. The business’s revenue was up 8.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $5.50 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 24.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Northrop Grumman Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 13th. Investors of record on Monday, February 26th were issued a $1.87 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 23rd. This represents a $7.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.56%. Northrop Grumman’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 52.31%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CAO Michael A. Hardesty sold 210 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $454.68, for a total value of $95,482.80. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 3,127 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,421,784.36. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, CAO Michael A. Hardesty sold 210 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $454.68, for a total value of $95,482.80. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 3,127 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,421,784.36. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, VP Kathryn G. Simpson sold 1,273 shares of Northrop Grumman stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $450.37, for a total value of $573,321.01. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 2,735 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,231,761.95. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 3,149 shares of company stock valued at $1,421,147 in the last three months. 0.22% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Northrop Grumman

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Headlands Technologies LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Northrop Grumman during the fourth quarter worth approximately $25,000. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. increased its stake in Northrop Grumman by 960.0% in the 4th quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 53 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 48 shares during the period. Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Northrop Grumman in the 3rd quarter valued at $29,000. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Northrop Grumman during the 4th quarter worth $29,000. Finally, McIlrath & Eck LLC lifted its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman by 247.6% in the 4th quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC now owns 73 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 52 shares during the period. 83.40% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.