Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC - Get Free Report) was downgraded by stock analysts at StockNews.com from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a report released on Thursday.
Several other brokerages have also recently commented on NOC. Alembic Global Advisors cut Northrop Grumman from an "overweight" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $560.00 target price for the company. in a research report on Tuesday, August 27th. TD Cowen upgraded shares of Northrop Grumman to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Northrop Grumman from $509.00 to $565.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Citigroup raised their price target on shares of Northrop Grumman from $521.00 to $587.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, Barclays lifted their price objective on Northrop Grumman from $500.00 to $550.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, October 29th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $550.56.
Get Our Latest Report on NOC
Northrop Grumman Stock Performance
NYSE NOC traded up $0.65 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $489.08. The company had a trading volume of 583,432 shares, compared to its average volume of 863,982. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $518.57 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $487.14. Northrop Grumman has a fifty-two week low of $418.60 and a fifty-two week high of $555.57. The company has a quick ratio of 0.97, a current ratio of 1.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.00. The stock has a market cap of $71.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.30, a P/E/G ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 0.35.
Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The aerospace company reported $7.00 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $6.07 by $0.93. Northrop Grumman had a return on equity of 26.57% and a net margin of 5.79%. The business had revenue of $10 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.18 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $6.18 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 2.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts forecast that Northrop Grumman will post 25.93 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.
Insider Buying and Selling
In other Northrop Grumman news, VP Benjamin R. Davies sold 1,156 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, November 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $532.93, for a total value of $616,067.08. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 537 shares in the company, valued at $286,183.41. This trade represents a 68.28 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 1,255 shares of company stock worth $667,727. Insiders own 0.22% of the company's stock.
Institutional Investors Weigh In On Northrop Grumman
Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Optimum Investment Advisors lifted its position in shares of Northrop Grumman by 241.2% in the second quarter. Optimum Investment Advisors now owns 58 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 41 shares during the last quarter. Bank & Trust Co acquired a new stake in Northrop Grumman during the 2nd quarter valued at $28,000. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC acquired a new stake in Northrop Grumman during the 3rd quarter valued at $31,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. boosted its position in Northrop Grumman by 245.5% during the second quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 76 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 54 shares during the period. Finally, FSA Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Northrop Grumman in the third quarter valued at $36,000. 83.40% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.
About Northrop Grumman
(
Get Free Report)
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.
Further Reading
Before you consider Northrop Grumman, you'll want to hear this.
MarketBeat keeps track of Wall Street's top-rated and best performing research analysts and the stocks they recommend to their clients on a daily basis. MarketBeat has identified the five stocks that top analysts are quietly whispering to their clients to buy now before the broader market catches on... and Northrop Grumman wasn't on the list.
While Northrop Grumman currently has a "Hold" rating among analysts, top-rated analysts believe these five stocks are better buys.
View The Five Stocks Here
Looking to avoid the hassle of mudslinging, volatility, and uncertainty? You'd need to be out of the market, which isn’t viable. So where should investors put their money? Find out with this report.
Get This Free Report
Like this article? Share it with a colleague.
Link copied to clipboard.
