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

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) had its price target raised by equities research analysts at Susquehanna from $540.00 to $560.00 in a report released on Friday, Benzinga reports. The firm presently has a “positive” rating on the aerospace company’s stock. Susquehanna’s price objective points to a potential upside of 16.89% from the company’s previous close.

Other research analysts also recently issued reports about the company. StockNews.com downgraded Northrop Grumman from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, January 29th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and set a $450.00 target price (down from $515.00) on shares of Northrop Grumman in a research report on Friday, January 26th. TheStreet downgraded Northrop Grumman from a “b+” rating to a “c+” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 25th. Alembic Global Advisors upgraded Northrop Grumman from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $532.00 price target for the company in a research report on Monday. Finally, Robert W. Baird raised their price target on Northrop Grumman from $475.00 to $505.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $501.08.

Northrop Grumman Price Performance

NOC traded down $8.98 during trading on Friday, reaching $479.08. 209,727 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 991,692. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a current ratio of 1.15. Northrop Grumman has a 12-month low of $414.56 and a 12-month high of $496.89. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $462.00 and a 200 day simple moving average of $465.71. The company has a market cap of $71.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.71, a PEG ratio of 1.91 and a beta of 0.35.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 25th. The aerospace company reported $6.32 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.83 by $0.49. The business had revenue of $10.13 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.77 billion. Northrop Grumman had a net margin of 5.23% and a return on equity of 23.07%. The company’s revenue was up 8.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $5.50 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that Northrop Grumman will post 24.67 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Northrop Grumman

In other news, CAO Michael A. Hardesty sold 210 shares of Northrop Grumman stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 3,127 shares in the company, valued at $1,421,784.36. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, CAO Michael A. Hardesty sold 210 shares of Northrop Grumman stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 3,127 shares in the company, valued at $1,421,784.36. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, VP Kathryn G. Simpson sold 711 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $453.22, for a total value of $322,239.42. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 2,024 shares in the company, valued at approximately $917,317.28. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 3,149 shares of company stock worth $1,421,147. 0.22% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Northrop Grumman

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in NOC. Wesbanco Bank Inc. grew its stake in Northrop Grumman by 1.2% in the third quarter. Wesbanco Bank Inc. now owns 1,782 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $784,000 after purchasing an additional 21 shares during the last quarter. Bogart Wealth LLC grew its stake in Northrop Grumman by 14.1% in the first quarter. Bogart Wealth LLC now owns 170 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $81,000 after purchasing an additional 21 shares during the last quarter. Ausdal Financial Partners Inc. grew its stake in Northrop Grumman by 4.4% in the fourth quarter. Ausdal Financial Partners Inc. now owns 524 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $245,000 after purchasing an additional 22 shares during the last quarter. Secure Asset Management LLC grew its stake in Northrop Grumman by 2.7% in the fourth quarter. Secure Asset Management LLC now owns 844 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $395,000 after purchasing an additional 22 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Simon Quick Advisors LLC grew its stake in Northrop Grumman by 4.0% in the third quarter. Simon Quick Advisors LLC now owns 604 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $266,000 after purchasing an additional 23 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.40% of the company’s stock.

Northrop Grumman Company Profile

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.