Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) Cut to Buy at StockNews.com

StockNews.com cut shares of Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC - Free Report) from a strong-buy rating to a buy rating in a research note published on Saturday.

A number of other brokerages also recently weighed in on NOC. Citigroup raised their price objective on Northrop Grumman from $521.00 to $587.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted 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. Susquehanna dropped their target price on shares of Northrop Grumman from $625.00 to $557.00 and set a "positive" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday. TD Cowen upgraded shares of Northrop Grumman to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. Finally, Barclays dropped their price objective on Northrop Grumman from $550.00 to $500.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $551.40.

Northrop Grumman Stock Down 0.8 %

NOC stock traded down $3.84 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $458.37. The stock had a trading volume of 626,258 shares, compared to its average volume of 761,440. Northrop Grumman has a 1-year low of $418.60 and a 1-year high of $555.57. The company has a fifty day moving average of $484.74 and a 200 day moving average of $492.64. 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 market capitalization of $66.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.40, a PEG ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 0.35.

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

Northrop Grumman Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, December 18th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 2nd were issued a dividend of $2.06 per share. This represents a $8.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.80%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 2nd. Northrop Grumman's payout ratio is 51.05%.

Northrop Grumman declared that its board has initiated a stock buyback program on Wednesday, December 11th that allows the company to repurchase $3.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the aerospace company to buy up to 4.3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are typically a sign that the company's leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling at Northrop Grumman

In related news, VP Benjamin R. Davies sold 1,156 shares of Northrop Grumman stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $532.93, for a total transaction of $616,067.08. Following the completion of 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 position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 1,255 shares of company stock valued at $663,859. 0.22% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Northrop Grumman

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Graypoint LLC increased its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 5.6% during the 4th quarter. Graypoint LLC now owns 2,043 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $959,000 after purchasing an additional 108 shares in the last quarter. Sage Capital Advisors llc increased its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Sage Capital Advisors llc now owns 7,323 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $3,437,000 after buying an additional 34 shares in the last quarter. LVM Capital Management Ltd. MI raised its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman by 4.7% in the fourth quarter. LVM Capital Management Ltd. MI now owns 32,602 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $15,300,000 after buying an additional 1,470 shares during the last quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. lifted its position in Northrop Grumman by 2.5% during the 4th quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 3,371 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $1,582,000 after buying an additional 82 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Baker Tilly Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 46.5% during the 4th quarter. Baker Tilly Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,403 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $658,000 after acquiring an additional 445 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.40% of the company's stock.

Northrop Grumman Company Profile

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.