Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) Raised to “Overweight” at Alembic Global Advisors

Alembic Global Advisors upgraded shares of Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) from a neutral rating to an overweight rating in a research report sent to investors on Monday morning, MarketBeat reports. The firm currently has $532.00 target price on the aerospace company’s stock.

Several other research analysts have also recently weighed in on NOC. Susquehanna lowered their price target on shares of Northrop Grumman from $560.00 to $540.00 and set a positive rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 26th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a sector perform rating and issued a $450.00 price target (down from $515.00) on shares of Northrop Grumman in a report on Friday, January 26th. StockNews.com cut shares of Northrop Grumman from a buy rating to a hold rating in a report on Monday, January 29th. Robert W. Baird lowered their target price on shares of Northrop Grumman from $505.00 to $475.00 and set a neutral rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 26th. Finally, TheStreet cut shares of Northrop Grumman from a b+ rating to a c+ rating in a report on Thursday, January 25th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $497.23.

Northrop Grumman Trading Up 2.9 %

Northrop Grumman stock opened at $488.22 on Monday. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $462.00 and a 200-day moving average of $465.71. Northrop Grumman has a one year low of $414.56 and a one year high of $496.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93, a current ratio of 1.15 and a quick ratio of 1.05. The company has a market cap of $72.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.22, a P/E/G ratio of 1.91 and a beta of 0.35.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, January 25th. The aerospace company reported $6.27 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.80 by $0.47. Northrop Grumman had a net margin of 5.23% and a return on equity of 23.07%. The business had revenue of $10.64 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.43 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $7.50 EPS. Northrop Grumman’s revenue was up 6.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts expect that Northrop Grumman will post 24.67 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Northrop Grumman Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 13th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 26th were issued a dividend of $1.87 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 23rd. This represents a $7.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.53%. Northrop Grumman’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 55.49%.

Insider Transactions at Northrop Grumman

In related news, VP Kathryn G. Simpson sold 1,273 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on 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 owns 2,735 shares in the company, valued at $1,231,761.95. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other Northrop Grumman news, CAO Michael A. Hardesty sold 210 shares of Northrop Grumman stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $454.68, for a total value 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 the SEC website. Also, VP Kathryn G. Simpson sold 1,273 shares of Northrop Grumman stock in a transaction on Friday, February 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $450.37, for a total transaction of $573,321.01. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 2,735 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,231,761.95. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 3,149 shares of company stock worth $1,421,147. Company insiders own 0.22% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Northrop Grumman

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Headlands Technologies LLC purchased a new position in Northrop Grumman during the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in Northrop Grumman by 960.0% in the fourth quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 53 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 48 shares during the last quarter. Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Northrop Grumman in the third quarter valued at about $29,000. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Northrop Grumman in the fourth quarter valued at about $29,000. Finally, McIlrath & Eck LLC boosted its stake in Northrop Grumman by 247.6% in the fourth quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC now owns 73 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 52 shares during the last quarter. 83.40% of the stock is owned by 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.