Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) Stock Rating Upgraded by Royal Bank of Canada

Royal Bank of Canada upgraded shares of Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) from a sector perform rating to an outperform rating in a research report sent to investors on Thursday morning, MarketBeat Ratings reports. They currently have $575.00 target price on the aerospace company’s stock, up from their prior target price of $500.00.

Other equities analysts have also issued reports about the stock. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Northrop Grumman from $545.00 to $547.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Wolfe Research upgraded Northrop Grumman from an “underperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Argus upgraded Northrop Grumman to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. StockNews.com lowered Northrop Grumman from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, UBS Group reduced their price target on Northrop Grumman from $579.00 to $558.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $545.06.

Northrop Grumman Trading Down 0.4 %

NYSE NOC opened at $511.86 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96, a current ratio of 1.01 and a quick ratio of 0.91. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $478.20 and its 200-day moving average is $492.84. Northrop Grumman has a one year low of $418.60 and a one year high of $555.57. The firm has a market cap of $74.09 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.06, a P/E/G ratio of 3.73 and a beta of 0.31.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The aerospace company reported $6.39 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $6.27 by $0.12. Northrop Grumman had a net margin of 10.17% and a return on equity of 26.24%. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Northrop Grumman will post 28.05 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Northrop Grumman Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 19th. Investors of record on Monday, March 3rd were paid a $2.06 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $8.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.61%. Northrop Grumman’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 29.08%.

Northrop Grumman declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase program on Wednesday, December 11th that allows the company to buyback $3.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the aerospace company to reacquire up to 4.3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are usually an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, VP Benjamin R. Davies sold 192 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $429.08, for a total value of $82,383.36. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 709 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $304,217.72. This represents a 21.31 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Kathy J. Warden sold 3,750 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $475.65, for a total transaction of $1,783,687.50. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 212,852 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $101,243,053.80. This represents a 1.73 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 4,505 shares of company stock valued at $2,126,405 over the last 90 days. 0.22% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Northrop Grumman

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC acquired a new position in Northrop Grumman in the 3rd quarter valued at $31,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Northrop Grumman in the fourth quarter valued at about $31,000. Wood Tarver Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Northrop Grumman in the fourth quarter valued at about $32,000. Albion Financial Group UT bought a new position in Northrop Grumman during the fourth quarter worth about $33,000. Finally, Bellwether Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Northrop Grumman in the 4th quarter worth about $33,000. 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.