StockNews.com Begins Coverage on Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC)

Posted by Trina Covell on Mar 19th, 2023

StockNews.com initiated coverage on shares of Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC – Get Rating) in a research report report published on Thursday. The brokerage issued a buy rating on the aerospace company’s stock.

Other analysts have also issued reports about the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered shares of Northrop Grumman from a neutral rating to a sell rating and reduced their price target for the stock from $440.00 to $375.00 in a research note on Friday, January 13th. Cowen lowered shares of Northrop Grumman from an outperform rating to a market perform rating and set a $478.00 price target for the company. in a research note on Friday, January 27th. Wolfe Research lowered shares of Northrop Grumman from an outperform rating to a peer perform rating in a research note on Friday, January 27th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on shares of Northrop Grumman from $626.00 to $601.00 and set an overweight rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 27th. Finally, Credit Suisse Group cut their target price on shares of Northrop Grumman from $500.00 to $490.00 and set an outperform rating for the company in a research note on Monday, February 6th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of Hold and an average target price of $508.13.

Northrop Grumman Trading Down 1.5 %

Northrop Grumman stock opened at $443.60 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $460.85 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $494.53. The firm has a market capitalization of $67.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.08, a PEG ratio of 5.92 and a beta of 0.51. Northrop Grumman has a 52-week low of $424.35 and a 52-week high of $556.27.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC – Get Rating) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, January 26th. The aerospace company reported $7.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.57 by $0.93. The firm had revenue of $10 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.64 billion. Northrop Grumman had a net margin of 13.38% and a return on equity of 28.29%. Northrop Grumman’s revenue was up 16.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $6.00 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Northrop Grumman will post 22.04 earnings per share for the current year.

Northrop Grumman Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 27th were paid a dividend of $1.73 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 24th. This represents a $6.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.56%. Northrop Grumman’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 21.96%.

Insider Transactions at Northrop Grumman

In other news, VP Sheila C. Cheston sold 2,547 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $467.81, for a total transaction of $1,191,512.07. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 24,249 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,343,924.69. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, VP Sheila C. Cheston sold 2,547 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $467.81, for a total transaction of $1,191,512.07. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 24,249 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,343,924.69. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CAO Michael A. Hardesty sold 1,178 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $467.81, for a total transaction of $551,080.18. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 2,737 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,280,395.97. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 10,534 shares of company stock worth $4,934,622 in the last 90 days. 0.25% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Northrop Grumman

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. King Luther Capital Management Corp boosted its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 1.3% in the 3rd quarter. King Luther Capital Management Corp now owns 1,428 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $672,000 after purchasing an additional 19 shares during the period. Sheaff Brock Investment Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 2.7% in the 3rd quarter. Sheaff Brock Investment Advisors LLC now owns 768 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $361,000 after purchasing an additional 20 shares during the period. Zions Bancorporation N.A. boosted its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 1.1% in the 3rd quarter. Zions Bancorporation N.A. now owns 1,911 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $899,000 after purchasing an additional 20 shares during the period. First Foundation Advisors boosted its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 2.3% in the 2nd quarter. First Foundation Advisors now owns 917 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $439,000 after purchasing an additional 21 shares during the period. Finally, Alphastar Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 0.5% in the 3rd quarter. Alphastar Capital Management LLC now owns 4,249 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $1,999,000 after purchasing an additional 21 shares during the period. 84.32% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Northrop Grumman Company Profile

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Northrop Grumman Corp. engages in the provision of advanced aircraft systems. It operates through the following segments: Aeronautics Systems, Defense Systems, Mission Systems, and Space Systems. The Aeronautics Systems segment is involved in the design, development, production, integration, sustainment, and modernization of advanced aircraft systems for the U.S.