Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) Upgraded by Royal Bank of Canada to “Outperform” Rating

Royal Bank of Canada upgraded shares of Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) from a sector perform rating to an outperform rating in a report issued on Thursday morning, MarketBeat.com reports. They currently have $575.00 price objective on the aerospace company’s stock, up from their previous price objective of $500.00.

NOC has been the topic of a number of other research reports. Argus upgraded Northrop Grumman to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Susquehanna reduced their price objective on shares of Northrop Grumman from $625.00 to $557.00 and set a “positive” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Wolfe Research raised shares of Northrop Grumman from an “underperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Barclays dropped their price target on shares of Northrop Grumman from $550.00 to $500.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of Northrop Grumman from $587.00 to $591.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, February 10th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $545.06.

Northrop Grumman Trading Up 1.3 %

Shares of NOC opened at $513.95 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 1.01, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $477.61 and a 200 day moving average price of $493.12. Northrop Grumman has a 12-month low of $418.60 and a 12-month high of $555.57. The firm has a market capitalization of $74.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.14, a P/E/G ratio of 3.73 and a beta of 0.31.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The aerospace company reported $6.39 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $6.27 by $0.12. Northrop Grumman had a net margin of 10.17% and a return on equity of 26.24%. Sell-side analysts forecast that Northrop Grumman will post 28.05 EPS for the current year.

Northrop Grumman Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 19th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 3rd were issued a dividend of $2.06 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $8.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.60%. Northrop Grumman’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 29.08%.

Northrop Grumman announced that its board has authorized a share buyback program 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 stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are usually a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Activity at Northrop Grumman

In related news, CEO Kathy J. Warden sold 3,750 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $475.65, for a total transaction of $1,783,687.50. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 212,852 shares in the company, valued at $101,243,053.80. The trade was a 1.73 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, VP Benjamin R. Davies sold 192 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $429.08, for a total transaction of $82,383.36. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 709 shares in the company, valued at $304,217.72. This represents a 21.31 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 4,505 shares of company stock valued at $2,126,405 over the last 90 days. 0.22% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Northrop Grumman

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of NOC. Larson Financial Group LLC boosted its position in shares of Northrop Grumman by 121.2% in the 3rd quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 460 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $243,000 after purchasing an additional 252 shares during the period. Avestar Capital LLC lifted its stake in Northrop Grumman by 13.0% in the third quarter. Avestar Capital LLC now owns 618 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $326,000 after buying an additional 71 shares during the last quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman by 75.6% in the third quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC now owns 5,390 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $2,847,000 after acquiring an additional 2,320 shares during the period. Glenmede Trust Co. NA grew its position in shares of Northrop Grumman by 7.8% during the third quarter. Glenmede Trust Co. NA now owns 17,386 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $9,181,000 after acquiring an additional 1,253 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund acquired a new position in shares of Northrop Grumman in the 3rd quarter valued at $1,056,000. 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.