Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) Given New $475.00 Price Target at Royal Bank of Canada

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) had its price target upped by equities researchers at Royal Bank of Canada from $450.00 to $475.00 in a report issued on Friday, Benzinga reports. The firm presently has a “sector perform” rating on the aerospace company’s stock. Royal Bank of Canada’s price target suggests a potential downside of 1.04% from the company’s previous close.

A number of other research analysts have also recently issued reports on NOC. Alembic Global Advisors raised shares of Northrop Grumman from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $532.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Monday. StockNews.com lowered shares of Northrop Grumman from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, January 29th. Susquehanna raised their target price on shares of Northrop Grumman from $540.00 to $560.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a research report on Friday. TheStreet lowered shares of Northrop Grumman from a “b+” rating to a “c+” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 25th. Finally, Robert W. Baird raised their target price on shares of Northrop Grumman from $475.00 to $505.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Northrop Grumman presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $503.00.

Northrop Grumman Stock Performance

NYSE NOC traded down $8.09 during trading on Friday, reaching $479.97. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 431,460 shares, compared to its average volume of 995,070. The company has a current ratio of 1.15, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93. The firm has a market capitalization of $71.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.50, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.91 and a beta of 0.35. Northrop Grumman has a 12 month low of $414.56 and a 12 month high of $496.89. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $462.00 and a 200 day moving average price of $465.71.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 25th. The aerospace company reported $6.32 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.83 by $0.49. The business had revenue of $10.13 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.77 billion. Northrop Grumman had a net margin of 5.23% and a return on equity of 23.07%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 8.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $5.50 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Northrop Grumman will post 24.67 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Northrop Grumman

In other news, CAO Michael A. Hardesty sold 210 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $454.68, for a total transaction of $95,482.80. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 3,127 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,421,784.36. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other Northrop Grumman news, VP Kathryn G. Simpson sold 1,273 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $450.37, for a total value of $573,321.01. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 2,735 shares in the company, valued at $1,231,761.95. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Michael A. Hardesty sold 210 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $454.68, for a total transaction of $95,482.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 3,127 shares in the company, valued at $1,421,784.36. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 3,149 shares of company stock valued at $1,421,147 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.22% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in NOC. Wesbanco Bank Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman by 1.2% during the 3rd quarter. Wesbanco Bank Inc. now owns 1,782 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $784,000 after buying an additional 21 shares in the last quarter. Bogart Wealth LLC increased its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 14.1% during the 1st quarter. Bogart Wealth LLC now owns 170 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $81,000 after acquiring an additional 21 shares during the period. Ausdal Financial Partners Inc. increased its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 4.4% during the 4th quarter. Ausdal Financial Partners Inc. now owns 524 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $245,000 after acquiring an additional 22 shares during the period. Secure Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 2.7% during the 4th quarter. Secure Asset Management LLC now owns 844 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $395,000 after acquiring an additional 22 shares during the period. Finally, Simon Quick Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 4.0% during the 3rd quarter. Simon Quick Advisors LLC now owns 604 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $266,000 after acquiring an additional 23 shares during the period. 83.40% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.