StockNews.com Upgrades Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) to “Strong-Buy”

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) from a buy rating to a strong-buy rating in a research report released on Tuesday.

NOC has been the subject of a number of other reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Northrop Grumman from $500.00 to $560.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, October 14th. Barclays increased their price target on Northrop Grumman from $500.00 to $550.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 29th. Citigroup increased their price target on Northrop Grumman from $521.00 to $587.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. TD Cowen upgraded Northrop Grumman to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. Finally, Susquehanna increased their price target on Northrop Grumman from $560.00 to $625.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a research note on Friday, October 25th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Northrop Grumman presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $550.56.

Northrop Grumman Trading Down 0.4 %

Shares of NYSE NOC opened at $531.38 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.00, a current ratio of 1.09 and a quick ratio of 0.97. The stock has a market capitalization of $77.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.92, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.08 and a beta of 0.35. Northrop Grumman has a 1-year low of $418.60 and a 1-year high of $555.57. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $523.97 and a 200 day moving average price of $485.43.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 24th. The aerospace company reported $7.00 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.07 by $0.93. The firm had revenue of $10 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $10.18 billion. Northrop Grumman had a return on equity of 26.57% and a net margin of 5.79%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 2.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $6.18 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Northrop Grumman will post 25.95 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Northrop Grumman Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 18th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 3rd were issued a dividend of $2.06 per share. This represents a $8.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.55%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, September 3rd. Northrop Grumman’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 51.05%.

Institutional Trading of Northrop Grumman

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Capital International Investors grew its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 5.6% during the first quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 11,747,646 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $5,623,128,000 after acquiring an additional 621,636 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 4.8% during the first quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 4,634,043 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $2,218,132,000 after acquiring an additional 211,459 shares during the period. Capital World Investors grew its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 0.6% during the first quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 3,688,511 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $1,765,543,000 after acquiring an additional 23,398 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc grew its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 16.0% during the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 1,087,913 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $474,276,000 after acquiring an additional 150,367 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 0.4% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 809,445 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $427,444,000 after purchasing an additional 3,211 shares during the period. 83.40% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.