Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) Price Target Raised to $560.00 at Susquehanna

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) had its price objective raised by Susquehanna from $540.00 to $560.00 in a research report sent to investors on Friday, Benzinga reports. They currently have a positive rating on the aerospace company’s stock.

NOC has been the subject of several other research reports. Robert W. Baird lifted their target price on shares of Northrop Grumman from $475.00 to $505.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a report on Friday. StockNews.com cut shares of Northrop Grumman from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research note on Monday, January 29th. Alembic Global Advisors upgraded shares of Northrop Grumman from a neutral rating to an overweight rating and set a $532.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Monday, April 22nd. TheStreet cut shares of Northrop Grumman from a b+ rating to a c+ rating in a research note on Thursday, January 25th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a sector perform rating and issued a $450.00 price objective (down previously from $515.00) on shares of Northrop Grumman in a research note on Friday, January 26th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of Hold and an average price target of $503.00.

Northrop Grumman Stock Performance

Shares of NOC stock opened at $480.45 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $71.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.60, a PEG ratio of 1.96 and a beta of 0.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a current ratio of 1.13. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $462.59 and a 200 day simple moving average of $465.77. Northrop Grumman has a 52 week low of $414.56 and a 52 week high of $496.89.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The aerospace company reported $6.32 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $5.83 by $0.49. The business had revenue of $10.13 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.77 billion. Northrop Grumman had a net margin of 5.38% and a return on equity of 24.09%. Northrop Grumman’s revenue was up 8.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $5.50 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Northrop Grumman will post 24.67 earnings per share for the current year.

Northrop Grumman Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 13th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 26th were given a $1.87 dividend. This represents a $7.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.56%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 23rd. Northrop Grumman’s payout ratio is presently 52.31%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, VP Kathryn G. Simpson sold 711 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $453.22, for a total transaction of $322,239.42. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 2,024 shares in the company, valued at approximately $917,317.28. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, VP Kathryn G. Simpson sold 711 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $453.22, for a total transaction of $322,239.42. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 2,024 shares in the company, valued at approximately $917,317.28. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CAO Michael A. Hardesty sold 210 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $454.68, for a total transaction of $95,482.80. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 3,127 shares of the company’s stock, 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 worth $1,421,147 in the last three months. 0.22% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Northrop Grumman

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Trueblood Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Northrop Grumman during the 1st quarter worth approximately $210,000. Sterling Investment Counsel LLC grew its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 13.0% during the 1st quarter. Sterling Investment Counsel LLC now owns 522 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $250,000 after acquiring an additional 60 shares during the last quarter. Narwhal Capital Management grew its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 1.7% during the 1st quarter. Narwhal Capital Management now owns 19,396 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $9,284,000 after acquiring an additional 332 shares during the last quarter. LifeSteps Financial Inc. bought a new stake in Northrop Grumman during the 1st quarter worth approximately $183,000. Finally, Northwest Bancshares Inc. grew its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 14.4% during the 1st quarter. Northwest Bancshares Inc. now owns 1,344 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $643,000 after acquiring an additional 169 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.