UBS Group Raises Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) Price Target to $605.00

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) had its price objective hoisted by UBS Group from $593.00 to $605.00 in a report issued on Friday, Benzinga reports. UBS Group currently has a buy rating on the aerospace company’s stock.

NOC has been the topic of a number of other research reports. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price target on shares of Northrop Grumman from $530.00 to $500.00 and set a hold rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, June 18th. Sanford C. Bernstein lowered Northrop Grumman from an outperform rating to a market perform rating and set a $477.00 target price on the stock. in a research note on Friday, June 21st. BTIG Research initiated coverage on Northrop Grumman in a research note on Wednesday, June 26th. They issued a buy rating and a $565.00 price target for the company. Alembic Global Advisors upgraded Northrop Grumman from a neutral rating to an overweight rating and set a $532.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 22nd. Finally, Susquehanna lifted their target price on Northrop Grumman from $540.00 to $560.00 and gave the stock a positive rating in a report on Friday, April 26th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $517.54.

Northrop Grumman Stock Performance

NOC opened at $477.57 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03. Northrop Grumman has a 12-month low of $414.56 and a 12-month high of $496.89. The business has a 50 day moving average of $441.64 and a 200-day moving average of $455.30. The stock has a market cap of $69.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.40, a PEG ratio of 2.20 and a beta of 0.33.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The aerospace company reported $6.36 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.93 by $0.43. Northrop Grumman had a return on equity of 25.44% and a net margin of 5.61%. The business had revenue of $10.22 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $10.02 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $5.34 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts expect that Northrop Grumman will post 25.1 earnings per share for the current year.

Northrop Grumman Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 12th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 28th were issued a dividend of $2.06 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 24th. This represents a $8.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.73%. This is a boost from Northrop Grumman’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.87. Northrop Grumman’s payout ratio is 57.62%.

Insider Activity at Northrop Grumman

In other Northrop Grumman news, VP Thomas H. Jones sold 1,389 shares of Northrop Grumman stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $477.56, for a total value of $663,330.84. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 6,755 shares in the company, valued at $3,225,917.80. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.22% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Northrop Grumman

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Smith Salley Wealth Management boosted its position in Northrop Grumman by 5.4% in the second quarter. Smith Salley Wealth Management now owns 23,247 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $10,134,000 after buying an additional 1,189 shares in the last quarter. Blackhawk Capital Partners LLC. bought a new position in shares of Northrop Grumman in the 2nd quarter valued at $756,000. F M Investments LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Northrop Grumman during the 2nd quarter valued at $16,403,000. Ridgewood Investments LLC bought a new stake in Northrop Grumman during the 2nd quarter worth $170,000. Finally, Arkadios Wealth Advisors increased its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 5.8% in the 2nd quarter. Arkadios Wealth Advisors now owns 1,735 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $756,000 after purchasing an additional 95 shares in the last quarter. 83.40% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.