Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) Upgraded by Guggenheim to “Strong-Buy” Rating

Guggenheim upgraded shares of Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) to a strong-buy rating in a research note published on Monday morning,Zacks reports.

Several other equities analysts have also recently weighed in on the stock. Sanford C. Bernstein reaffirmed a “market perform” rating and issued a $653.00 price target on shares of Northrop Grumman in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. Wells Fargo & Company reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $620.00 price target on shares of Northrop Grumman in a research report on Wednesday, July 8th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $615.00 price target on shares of Northrop Grumman in a report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Susquehanna reduced their price objective on shares of Northrop Grumman from $785.00 to $655.00 and set a “positive” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Finally, Raymond James Financial reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Northrop Grumman in a research note on Monday, June 15th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have issued a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $659.86.

Northrop Grumman Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:NOC opened at $530.70 on Monday. Northrop Grumman has a twelve month low of $479.02 and a twelve month high of $774.00. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $542.98 and its 200-day moving average is $587.21. The company has a quick ratio of 1.06, a current ratio of 1.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.81. The firm has a market capitalization of $75.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.86, a PEG ratio of 3.11 and a beta of -0.11.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 21st. The aerospace company reported $7.68 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $6.82 by $0.86. The business had revenue of $10.88 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.80 billion. Northrop Grumman had a net margin of 10.48% and a return on equity of 24.25%. Northrop Grumman’s revenue was up 5.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $8.15 EPS. Northrop Grumman has set its FY 2026 guidance at 28.600-29.100 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Northrop Grumman will post 28.97 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Northrop Grumman Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 16th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 31st were given a dividend of $2.47 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 31st. This represents a $9.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.9%. Northrop Grumman’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 31.39%.

Insider Activity at Northrop Grumman

In related news, Director Mark Welsh, III sold 95 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $547.53, for a total value of $52,015.35. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 4,393 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,405,299.29. The trade was a 2.12% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. 0.21% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Northrop Grumman

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in NOC. Kestra Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman by 4.4% in the fourth quarter. Kestra Investment Management LLC now owns 353 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $201,000 after purchasing an additional 15 shares during the period. Evolution Wealth Management Inc. increased its stake in Northrop Grumman by 6.8% during the 4th quarter. Evolution Wealth Management Inc. now owns 235 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $134,000 after buying an additional 15 shares during the period. Diversified Portfolios Inc. increased its stake in Northrop Grumman by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. Diversified Portfolios Inc. now owns 1,789 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $1,020,000 after buying an additional 16 shares during the period. South Plains Financial Inc. lifted its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 1.8% during the 4th quarter. South Plains Financial Inc. now owns 896 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $511,000 after buying an additional 16 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Tobias Financial Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 4.7% during the 4th quarter. Tobias Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 379 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $216,000 after buying an additional 17 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 83.40% of the company’s stock.

About Northrop Grumman

Northrop Grumman Corporation is a global aerospace and defense company that develops and delivers systems, platforms and technologies for government and commercial customers. Its activities include the design and production of military aircraft, autonomous systems, spacecraft, launch vehicles, missile-defense systems, command-and-control networks, cyber solutions, sensors and other mission-critical technologies.

The company serves the U.S. Department of Defense, other U.S. government agencies and international customers.