Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) Rating Increased to Buy at Citigroup

Citigroup upgraded shares of Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) from a neutral rating to a buy rating in a research note released on Tuesday, Marketbeat.com reports. They currently have $587.00 price target on the aerospace company’s stock.

A number of other research analysts have also weighed in on NOC. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded Northrop Grumman from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $595.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Barclays lowered their price target on shares of Northrop Grumman from $550.00 to $500.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 6th. UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of Northrop Grumman from $614.00 to $643.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on Northrop Grumman from $500.00 to $540.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. Finally, StockNews.com raised Northrop Grumman from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Sunday. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $550.94.

Northrop Grumman Stock Up 4.5 %

Shares of NYSE NOC opened at $504.16 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $73.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.24, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.91 and a beta of 0.35. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $479.52 and its 200-day simple moving average is $494.82. The company has a quick ratio of 0.97, a current ratio of 1.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.00. Northrop Grumman has a 52-week low of $418.60 and a 52-week high of $555.57.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 return on equity of 26.57% and a net margin of 5.79%. The company had revenue of $10 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.18 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $6.18 EPS. Northrop Grumman’s quarterly revenue was up 2.3% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts predict that Northrop Grumman will post 25.95 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Northrop Grumman declared that its board has authorized a share buyback program on Wednesday, December 11th that authorizes the company to buyback $3.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the aerospace company to buy up to 4.3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are generally a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Northrop Grumman Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, December 18th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 2nd were given a dividend of $2.06 per share. This represents a $8.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.63%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 2nd. Northrop Grumman’s dividend payout ratio is presently 51.05%.

Insider Activity at Northrop Grumman

In other news, VP Benjamin R. Davies sold 1,156 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on 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 directly 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 transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In the last quarter, insiders sold 1,255 shares of company stock worth $663,859. Insiders own 0.22% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Northrop Grumman

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Asio Capital LLC increased its stake in Northrop Grumman by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. Asio Capital LLC now owns 6,228 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $2,923,000 after purchasing an additional 35 shares during the period. Grimes & Company Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman by 68.8% in the fourth quarter. Grimes & Company Inc. now owns 932 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $437,000 after purchasing an additional 380 shares in the last quarter. Cyndeo Wealth Partners LLC increased its stake in Northrop Grumman by 5.4% during the 4th quarter. Cyndeo Wealth Partners LLC now owns 978 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $459,000 after buying an additional 50 shares during the period. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 9.8% during the 4th quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 2,049 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $962,000 after buying an additional 183 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Pflug Koory LLC boosted its position in Northrop Grumman by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. Pflug Koory LLC now owns 3,370 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $1,582,000 after buying an additional 24 shares during the period. 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.