Northrop Grumman Co. Plans Quarterly Dividend of $2.06 (NYSE:NOC)

Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) announced a quarterly dividend on Wednesday, November 20th,Wall Street Journal reports. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 2nd will be paid a dividend of 2.06 per share by the aerospace company on Wednesday, December 18th. This represents a $8.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.66%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 2nd.

Northrop Grumman has raised its dividend payment by an average of 9.0% annually over the last three years and has increased its dividend annually for the last 21 consecutive years. Northrop Grumman has a payout ratio of 29.4% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Research analysts expect Northrop Grumman to earn $27.79 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $8.24 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 29.7%.

Northrop Grumman Price Performance

Shares of NYSE NOC traded up $4.43 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $496.41. 609,730 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 862,757. The firm has a market cap of $72.33 billion, a PE ratio of 30.48, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.99 and a beta of 0.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.00, a current ratio of 1.09 and a quick ratio of 0.97. Northrop Grumman has a fifty-two week low of $418.60 and a fifty-two week high of $555.57. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $521.50 and a 200-day simple moving average of $486.48.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The aerospace company reported $7.00 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $6.07 by $0.93. The company had revenue of $10 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $10.18 billion. Northrop Grumman had a return on equity of 26.57% and a net margin of 5.79%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $6.18 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Northrop Grumman will post 25.93 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Northrop Grumman

In related news, VP Benjamin R. Davies sold 1,156 shares of Northrop Grumman stock in a transaction on Monday, November 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $532.93, for a total transaction of $616,067.08. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 537 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $286,183.41. This trade represents a 68.28 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 1,289 shares of company stock worth $685,273. 0.22% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on NOC shares. TD Cowen upgraded shares of Northrop Grumman to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. StockNews.com cut shares of Northrop Grumman from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Northrop Grumman from $509.00 to $565.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. Barclays raised their price objective on Northrop Grumman from $500.00 to $550.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 29th. Finally, Citigroup boosted their target price on Northrop Grumman from $521.00 to $587.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $550.56.

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.