Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) Price Target Raised to $550.00

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) had its target price upped by Barclays from $500.00 to $550.00 in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday morning, Benzinga reports. Barclays currently has an equal weight rating on the aerospace company’s stock.

A number of other analysts also recently issued reports on the stock. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of Northrop Grumman from $579.00 to $592.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, August 9th. Citigroup raised their target price on shares of Northrop Grumman from $521.00 to $587.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on shares of Northrop Grumman from $500.00 to $540.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Northrop Grumman from $509.00 to $565.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Northrop Grumman from $500.00 to $560.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, October 14th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Northrop Grumman currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $550.56.

Northrop Grumman Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:NOC opened at $506.86 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.09, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.00. Northrop Grumman has a 12 month low of $418.60 and a 12 month high of $555.57. The stock has a market cap of $73.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.40, a P/E/G ratio of 1.02 and a beta of 0.34. The company has a 50 day moving average of $523.52 and a 200 day moving average of $482.84.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The aerospace company reported $7.00 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.07 by $0.93. Northrop Grumman had a net margin of 5.79% and a return on equity of 26.57%. The company had revenue of $10 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.18 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $6.18 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 2.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Northrop Grumman will post 25.95 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Northrop Grumman Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 18th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 3rd were paid a $2.06 dividend. This represents a $8.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.63%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, September 3rd. Northrop Grumman’s dividend payout ratio is currently 51.05%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Diversify Advisory Services LLC purchased a new stake in Northrop Grumman during the first quarter worth $870,000. Norden Group LLC purchased a new position in Northrop Grumman in the first quarter valued at approximately $778,000. Aviso Wealth Management grew its position in Northrop Grumman by 110.7% in the second quarter. Aviso Wealth Management now owns 1,896 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $827,000 after acquiring an additional 996 shares in the last quarter. Susquehanna International Securities Ltd. acquired a new stake in Northrop Grumman in the second quarter valued at approximately $1,133,000. Finally, State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System grew its position in Northrop Grumman by 9.8% in the first quarter. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System now owns 160,328 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $74,027,000 after acquiring an additional 14,275 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.