Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) PT Raised to $500.00 at Royal Bank of Canada

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) had its target price lifted by research analysts at Royal Bank of Canada from $475.00 to $500.00 in a report issued on Friday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has a “sector perform” rating on the aerospace company’s stock. Royal Bank of Canada’s price target points to a potential upside of 4.83% from the company’s current price.

NOC has been the subject of several other reports. Alembic Global Advisors raised shares of Northrop Grumman from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $532.00 target price for the company in a research note on Monday, April 22nd. Robert W. Baird increased their price objective on shares of Northrop Grumman from $475.00 to $505.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, April 26th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price objective on shares of Northrop Grumman from $530.00 to $500.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, June 18th. Susquehanna increased their price objective on shares of Northrop Grumman from $540.00 to $560.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a research report on Friday, April 26th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Northrop Grumman from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, July 12th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $511.50.

Northrop Grumman Price Performance

NOC stock traded up $6.38 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $476.95. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 177,808 shares, compared to its average volume of 967,953. The firm has a market capitalization of $70.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.06 and a beta of 0.33. The company has a quick ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04. Northrop Grumman has a 12 month low of $414.56 and a 12 month high of $496.89. The company has a 50 day moving average of $441.27 and a two-hundred day moving average of $455.43.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The aerospace company reported $6.36 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.95 by $0.41. The company had revenue of $10.22 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $10.02 billion. Northrop Grumman had a net margin of 5.38% and a return on equity of 24.09%. Northrop Grumman’s quarterly revenue was up 6.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $5.34 earnings per share. On average, analysts expect that Northrop Grumman will post 24.71 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Northrop Grumman

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Gulf International Bank UK Ltd increased its position in Northrop Grumman by 1,402.9% during the 1st quarter. Gulf International Bank UK Ltd now owns 12,925 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $6,186,000 after purchasing an additional 12,065 shares during the period. Diversify Advisory Services LLC purchased a new position in Northrop Grumman during the 1st quarter valued at about $870,000. Norden Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Northrop Grumman in the 1st quarter worth approximately $778,000. Fisher Asset Management LLC grew its position in shares of Northrop Grumman by 7,574.5% in the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 123,637 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $57,879,000 after buying an additional 122,026 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Red Mountain Financial LLC purchased a new position in shares of Northrop Grumman in the 4th quarter worth approximately $264,000. Institutional investors 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.