Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) Upgraded at Wells Fargo & Company

Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) from an equal weight rating to an overweight rating in a research note published on Wednesday, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Wells Fargo & Company currently has $595.00 target price on the aerospace company’s stock.

NOC has been the subject of several other research reports. UBS Group lifted their price target on Northrop Grumman from $614.00 to $643.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. StockNews.com raised shares of Northrop Grumman from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. Susquehanna upped their price objective on Northrop Grumman from $560.00 to $625.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. Citigroup lifted their target price on Northrop Grumman from $521.00 to $587.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Northrop Grumman from $500.00 to $560.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, October 14th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $551.40.

Northrop Grumman Price Performance

Northrop Grumman stock opened at $458.37 on Wednesday. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $484.74 and its two-hundred day moving average is $492.20. 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 $66.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.40, a P/E/G ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 0.35. Northrop Grumman has a 12-month low of $418.60 and a 12-month high of $555.57.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last released its earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The aerospace company reported $7.00 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $6.07 by $0.93. Northrop Grumman had a net margin of 5.79% and a return on equity of 26.57%. The firm had revenue of $10 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $10.18 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $6.18 EPS. Northrop Grumman’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.3% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts predict that Northrop Grumman will post 25.93 earnings per share for the current year.

Northrop Grumman announced that its board has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Wednesday, December 11th that authorizes the company to repurchase $3.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the aerospace company to purchase up to 4.3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are usually a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Northrop Grumman Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, December 18th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 2nd were given a $2.06 dividend. This represents a $8.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.80%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 2nd. Northrop Grumman’s payout ratio is 51.05%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Northrop Grumman

In other Northrop Grumman news, VP Benjamin R. Davies sold 1,156 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $532.93, for a total transaction of $616,067.08. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 537 shares in the company, valued at $286,183.41. The trade was a 68.28 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Insiders have sold 1,255 shares of company stock worth $663,859 in the last ninety days. 0.22% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Northrop Grumman

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 0.4% in the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 4,140,892 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $2,186,681,000 after buying an additional 17,596 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman by 0.6% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,003,360 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $1,581,644,000 after buying an additional 18,791 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman by 6.2% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 2,426,270 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $1,315,729,000 after purchasing an additional 141,816 shares during the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc grew its position in Northrop Grumman by 16.0% in the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 1,087,913 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $474,276,000 after buying an additional 150,367 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman by 0.4% during 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 last quarter. 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.