Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) Now Covered by Truist Financial

Truist Financial began coverage on shares of Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC - Free Report) in a report released on Tuesday, MarketBeat.com reports. The brokerage issued a buy rating and a $544.00 price target on the aerospace company's stock.

NOC has been the subject of several other research reports. StockNews.com downgraded Northrop Grumman from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Saturday. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Northrop Grumman from $614.00 to $643.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Barclays dropped 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 research report on Monday, January 6th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on shares of Northrop Grumman from $500.00 to $540.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of Northrop Grumman from $500.00 to $560.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, October 14th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $550.94.

Northrop Grumman Stock Performance

NOC stock traded up $2.99 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $475.37. The stock had a trading volume of 553,950 shares, compared to its average volume of 760,943. Northrop Grumman has a 52 week low of $418.60 and a 52 week high of $555.57. The company has a current ratio of 1.09, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.00. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $483.30 and a 200 day simple moving average of $493.62. The firm has a market capitalization of $69.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.45, a P/E/G ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 0.35.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 24th. The aerospace company reported $7.00 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $6.07 by $0.93. Northrop Grumman had a net margin of 5.79% and a return on equity of 26.57%. The company had revenue of $10 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.18 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $6.18 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 2.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Northrop Grumman will post 25.93 earnings per share for the current year.

Northrop Grumman Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, December 18th. Investors of record on Monday, December 2nd were paid a dividend of $2.06 per share. This represents a $8.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.73%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 2nd. Northrop Grumman's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 51.05%.

Northrop Grumman announced that its board has approved a share repurchase program on Wednesday, December 11th that allows the company to buyback $3.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the aerospace company to reacquire up to 4.3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often a sign that the company's board believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling at Northrop Grumman

In other news, VP Benjamin R. Davies sold 1,156 shares of Northrop Grumman stock in a transaction on Monday, November 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $532.93, for a total transaction of $616,067.08. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 537 shares of the company's stock, valued at $286,183.41. This trade represents a 68.28 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 1,255 shares of company stock worth $663,859. Insiders own 0.22% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Northrop Grumman

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Northrop Grumman in the third quarter worth about $604,000. Fisher Asset Management LLC increased its stake in Northrop Grumman by 2.6% during the 3rd quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 212,514 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $112,222,000 after purchasing an additional 5,334 shares in the last quarter. AIA Group Ltd raised its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 20.0% during the 3rd quarter. AIA Group Ltd now owns 7,458 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $3,938,000 after buying an additional 1,242 shares during the period. Aviso Wealth Management lifted its stake in Northrop Grumman by 110.7% in the second quarter. Aviso Wealth Management now owns 1,896 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $827,000 after buying an additional 996 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Susquehanna International Securities Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of Northrop Grumman in the second quarter valued at approximately $1,133,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.