Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) Given Average Rating of “Hold” by Analysts

Shares of Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) have been assigned an average recommendation of “Hold” from the seventeen brokerages that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and eight have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year target price among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $544.56.

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on NOC shares. Wolfe Research raised shares of Northrop Grumman from an “underperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Citigroup raised their target price on shares of Northrop Grumman from $587.00 to $591.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Susquehanna dropped their price target on Northrop Grumman from $625.00 to $557.00 and set a “positive” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Truist Financial assumed coverage on Northrop Grumman in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. They set a “buy” rating and a $544.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Barclays reduced 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.

Northrop Grumman Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:NOC opened at $448.59 on Monday. 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 company has a 50 day moving average of $471.03 and a 200 day moving average of $497.58. The stock has a market cap of $64.94 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.83, a P/E/G ratio of 3.73 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 issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The aerospace company reported $6.39 EPS 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%. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Northrop Grumman will post 28.05 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Northrop Grumman Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 19th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 3rd will be issued a $2.06 dividend. This represents a $8.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.84%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 3rd. Northrop Grumman’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 29.08%.

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in NOC. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC purchased a new position in Northrop Grumman in the third quarter valued at about $31,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Northrop Grumman during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Albion Financial Group UT bought a new position in shares of Northrop Grumman in the 4th quarter worth about $33,000. Bellwether Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Northrop Grumman in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Finally, FSA Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Northrop Grumman in the third quarter worth $36,000. Hedge funds and other 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.