Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) Cut to “Buy” at StockNews.com

StockNews.com lowered shares of Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) from a strong-buy rating to a buy rating in a research report sent to investors on Tuesday morning.

A number of other equities research analysts have also issued reports on the company. Susquehanna increased their price target on Northrop Grumman from $560.00 to $625.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Citigroup boosted their price target on Northrop Grumman from $521.00 to $587.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Northrop Grumman from $500.00 to $550.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 29th. TD Cowen raised shares of Northrop Grumman to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. Finally, UBS Group upped their target price on shares of Northrop Grumman from $614.00 to $643.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $553.27.

Northrop Grumman Stock Up 0.2 %

NOC opened at $472.23 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $68.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.26, a PEG ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 0.33. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $496.23 and a 200-day moving average price of $489.53. Northrop Grumman has a twelve month low of $418.60 and a twelve month high of $555.57. The company has a quick ratio of 0.97, a current ratio of 1.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.00.

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

Northrop Grumman declared that its board has approved a stock buyback program on Wednesday, December 11th that authorizes the company to repurchase $3.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the aerospace company to reacquire up to 4.3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are often a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Northrop Grumman Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, December 18th. Investors of record on Monday, December 2nd were issued a dividend of $2.06 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 2nd. This represents a $8.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.74%. Northrop Grumman’s payout ratio is 51.05%.

Insider Activity

In related news, VP Benjamin R. Davies sold 1,156 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $532.93, for a total transaction of $616,067.08. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 537 shares in the company, valued at $286,183.41. The trade was a 68.28 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 1,255 shares of company stock worth $666,461. Corporate insiders own 0.22% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Northrop Grumman

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman by 0.4% in the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 4,140,892 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $2,186,681,000 after buying an additional 17,596 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Northrop Grumman by 0.6% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,003,360 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $1,581,644,000 after purchasing an additional 18,791 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman by 6.2% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 2,426,270 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $1,315,729,000 after buying an additional 141,816 shares in the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc boosted its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman by 16.0% during the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 1,087,913 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $474,276,000 after purchasing an additional 150,367 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in Northrop Grumman by 0.4% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 809,445 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $427,444,000 after buying an additional 3,211 shares during the last quarter. 83.40% of the stock is 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.