Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) Receives $543.65 Consensus Target Price from Analysts

Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC - Get Free Report) has received an average recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from the nineteen analysts that are covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, nine have given a buy recommendation and one has assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year price target among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $548.88.

A number of research firms have recently commented on NOC. Royal Bank of Canada upgraded Northrop Grumman from a "sector perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and increased their price objective for the company from $500.00 to $575.00 in a report on Thursday, March 27th. Susquehanna lowered their price target on Northrop Grumman from $625.00 to $557.00 and set a "positive" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Citigroup raised their price objective on shares of Northrop Grumman from $587.00 to $591.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, February 10th. Barclays lowered their target price on shares of Northrop Grumman from $550.00 to $500.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Wolfe Research upgraded shares of Northrop Grumman from an "underperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, VP Benjamin R. Davies sold 192 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $429.08, for a total transaction of $82,383.36. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 709 shares of the company's stock, valued at $304,217.72. The trade was a 21.31 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Kathy J. Warden sold 3,750 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $475.65, for a total value of $1,783,687.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 212,852 shares of the company's stock, valued at $101,243,053.80. The trade was a 1.73 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 4,505 shares of company stock worth $2,127,182. 0.23% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Northrop Grumman

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Whipplewood Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Northrop Grumman in the fourth quarter valued at about $31,000. Wood Tarver Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in Northrop Grumman in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Albion Financial Group UT acquired a new stake in Northrop Grumman during the 4th quarter valued at $33,000. Bellwether Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Northrop Grumman during the fourth quarter worth $33,000. Finally, Modus Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Northrop Grumman in the fourth quarter worth $38,000. 83.40% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Northrop Grumman Stock Up 0.5 %

Northrop Grumman stock traded up $2.45 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $539.96. The stock had a trading volume of 1,102,225 shares, compared to its average volume of 865,399. The company has a quick ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96. Northrop Grumman has a 52-week low of $418.60 and a 52-week high of $555.57. The stock has a market cap of $77.83 billion, a PE ratio of 19.05, a P/E/G ratio of 3.73 and a beta of 0.20. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $488.43 and a 200 day moving average price of $491.81.

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

Northrop Grumman Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 19th. Investors of record on Monday, March 3rd were paid a $2.06 dividend. This represents a $8.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.53%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 3rd. Northrop Grumman's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 29.08%.

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.