Northrop Grumman (NOC) Projected to Post Earnings on Thursday

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) will likely be releasing its earnings data before the market opens on Thursday, January 30th. Analysts expect Northrop Grumman to post earnings of $6.27 per share and revenue of $10.97 billion for the quarter. Persons that are interested in registering for the company’s earnings conference call can do so using this link.

Northrop Grumman Stock Down 3.3 %

NOC opened at $486.68 on Wednesday. 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 firm has a market cap of $70.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.15, a PEG ratio of 0.95 and a beta of 0.35. Northrop Grumman has a 52 week low of $418.60 and a 52 week high of $555.57. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $478.95 and its 200 day simple moving average is $497.36.

Northrop Grumman Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed 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 1.69%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 2nd. Northrop Grumman’s payout ratio is currently 51.05%.

Northrop Grumman announced that its board has approved a share repurchase plan on Wednesday, December 11th that authorizes the company to buyback $3.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the aerospace company to buy up to 4.3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are typically an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling at Northrop Grumman

In other news, VP Benjamin R. Davies sold 1,156 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 11th. The stock was 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 directly owns 537 shares in the company, valued at approximately $286,183.41. The trade was a 68.28 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders have sold a total of 1,255 shares of company stock valued at $663,859 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.22% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently weighed in on NOC. StockNews.com upgraded Northrop Grumman from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Sunday, January 19th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Northrop Grumman from $500.00 to $560.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, October 14th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on Northrop Grumman from $500.00 to $540.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Citigroup upgraded Northrop Grumman from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $587.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Finally, UBS Group raised their price objective on Northrop Grumman from $614.00 to $643.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $550.94.

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.