Wells Fargo & Company Cuts Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) Price Target to $574.00

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) had its price objective cut by Wells Fargo & Company from $595.00 to $574.00 in a research note issued to investors on Friday,Benzinga reports. They currently have an overweight rating on the aerospace company’s stock.

NOC has been the subject of several other research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on Northrop Grumman from $500.00 to $560.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, October 14th. UBS Group upped their price objective on Northrop Grumman from $614.00 to $643.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Truist Financial initiated coverage on Northrop Grumman in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $544.00 price objective for the company. Citigroup raised Northrop Grumman from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $587.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Finally, Barclays lowered their price objective on Northrop Grumman from $550.00 to $500.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $544.31.

Northrop Grumman Trading Up 0.7 %

NOC stock opened at $486.97 on Friday. 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 company has a fifty day moving average price of $478.20 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $498.35. Northrop Grumman has a one year low of $418.60 and a one year high of $555.57. The stock has a market cap of $70.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.17, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.91 and a beta of 0.35.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The aerospace company reported $6.39 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.27 by $0.12. Northrop Grumman had a net margin of 5.79% and a return on equity of 26.57%. Equities analysts anticipate that Northrop Grumman will post 25.96 EPS for the current year.

Northrop Grumman Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, December 18th. Investors of record on Monday, December 2nd were given a $2.06 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 2nd. This represents a $8.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.69%. Northrop Grumman’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 51.05%.

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

Insider Activity

In other news, VP Benjamin R. Davies sold 1,156 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $532.93, for a total transaction of $616,067.08. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 537 shares in the company, valued at $286,183.41. This trade represents a 68.28 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders have sold 1,255 shares of company stock valued at $663,859 in the last ninety days. 0.22% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in NOC. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC bought a new stake in shares of Northrop Grumman during the third quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Albion Financial Group UT bought a new stake in shares of Northrop Grumman during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $33,000. FSA Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Northrop Grumman during the third quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Modus Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Northrop Grumman during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Finally, Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Northrop Grumman during the third quarter valued at approximately $40,000. 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.