Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) Raised to Strong-Buy at Argus

Argus upgraded shares of Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC - Free Report) to a strong-buy rating in a report issued on Wednesday,Zacks.com reports.

Several other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports on NOC. Susquehanna decreased their target price on shares of Northrop Grumman from $625.00 to $557.00 and set a "positive" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Northrop Grumman from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. UBS Group cut their price target on shares of Northrop Grumman from $579.00 to $558.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 31st. Wolfe Research upgraded shares of Northrop Grumman from an "underperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on shares of Northrop Grumman from $574.00 to $545.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $542.75.

Northrop Grumman Trading Down 1.9 %

Shares of Northrop Grumman stock traded down $9.08 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $464.34. 1,335,710 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 990,335. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $469.43 and a 200 day simple moving average of $495.61. The company has a current ratio of 1.01, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96. Northrop Grumman has a twelve month low of $418.60 and a twelve month high of $555.57. The stock has a market capitalization of $67.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.38, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.73 and a beta of 0.35.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results 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%. Research analysts forecast that Northrop Grumman will post 28.05 EPS for the current year.

Northrop Grumman announced that its board has authorized a stock repurchase plan 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 stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are typically an indication that the company's board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Northrop Grumman Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 19th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 3rd will be paid a dividend of $2.06 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $8.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.77%. Northrop Grumman's payout ratio is 29.08%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Northrop Grumman

In other Northrop Grumman news, VP Benjamin R. Davies sold 464 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $460.75, for a total transaction of $213,788.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 245 shares in the company, valued at $112,883.75. The trade was a 65.44 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Insiders sold a total of 755 shares of company stock worth $342,972 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.22% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Northrop Grumman

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC bought a new position in shares of Northrop Grumman during the third quarter worth about $31,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Northrop Grumman during the fourth quarter worth about $31,000. Albion Financial Group UT bought a new position in shares of Northrop Grumman during the fourth quarter worth about $33,000. Bellwether Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Northrop Grumman during the fourth quarter worth about $33,000. Finally, FSA Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Northrop Grumman during the third quarter worth about $36,000. Institutional investors 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.