Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) Price Target Raised to $500.00

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) had its price objective increased by Royal Bank of Canada from $475.00 to $500.00 in a research report sent to investors on Friday morning, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a sector perform rating on the aerospace company’s stock.

A number of other research analysts have also recently issued reports on NOC. Robert W. Baird increased their target price on shares of Northrop Grumman from $475.00 to $505.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a report on Friday, April 26th. Susquehanna raised their price objective on shares of Northrop Grumman from $540.00 to $560.00 and gave the stock a positive rating in a research note on Friday, April 26th. Sanford C. Bernstein cut shares of Northrop Grumman from an outperform rating to a market perform rating and set a $477.00 price objective for the company. in a research note on Friday, June 21st. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price objective on shares of Northrop Grumman from $530.00 to $500.00 and set a hold rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, June 18th. Finally, BTIG Research initiated coverage on shares of Northrop Grumman in a research note on Wednesday, June 26th. They set a buy rating and a $565.00 price objective for the company. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of Hold and an average target price of $517.54.

Northrop Grumman Trading Down 0.6 %

NYSE NOC opened at $477.57 on Friday. Northrop Grumman has a 52-week low of $414.56 and a 52-week high of $496.89. The company has a quick ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03. The stock has a market capitalization of $69.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.40, a P/E/G ratio of 2.20 and a beta of 0.33. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $441.64 and a 200 day moving average price of $455.30.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The aerospace company reported $6.36 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.93 by $0.43. Northrop Grumman had a net margin of 5.61% and a return on equity of 25.44%. The company had revenue of $10.22 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $10.02 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $5.34 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 6.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts expect that Northrop Grumman will post 25.1 EPS for the current year.

Northrop Grumman Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 12th. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 28th were given a dividend of $2.06 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 24th. This represents a $8.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.73%. This is a positive change from Northrop Grumman’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.87. Northrop Grumman’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 57.62%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Northrop Grumman news, VP Thomas H. Jones sold 1,389 shares of Northrop Grumman stock in a transaction on Friday, July 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $477.56, for a total value of $663,330.84. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 6,755 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,225,917.80. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.22% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Northrop Grumman

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Headlands Technologies LLC acquired a new position in shares of Northrop Grumman in the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. raised its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman by 960.0% in the 4th quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 53 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 48 shares during the period. Optimum Investment Advisors raised its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman by 241.2% in the 2nd quarter. Optimum Investment Advisors now owns 58 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 41 shares during the period. Bank & Trust Co purchased a new position in shares of Northrop Grumman in the 2nd quarter valued at $28,000. Finally, Frazier Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Northrop Grumman in the 4th quarter valued at $29,000. 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.