Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) Reaches New 52-Week High – What’s Next?

Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC)’s stock price hit a new 52-week high during trading on Monday . The company traded as high as $716.82 and last traded at $712.5750, with a volume of 1606 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $709.11.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently commented on NOC. Sanford C. Bernstein reaffirmed a “market perform” rating and set a $727.00 price objective on shares of Northrop Grumman in a research note on Monday, January 12th. Truist Financial reaffirmed a “hold” rating and set a $623.00 price target (down previously from $688.00) on shares of Northrop Grumman in a research note on Friday, January 9th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Northrop Grumman in a research note on Wednesday, December 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Northrop Grumman from $575.00 to $640.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 22nd. Finally, BTIG Research upped their price target on Northrop Grumman from $680.00 to $815.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 28th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have given a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $688.79.

Northrop Grumman Trading Up 0.2%

The company has a current ratio of 1.10, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $612.48 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $595.00. The stock has a market cap of $100.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.27 and a beta of 0.04.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 27th. The aerospace company reported $7.23 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.97 by $0.26. Northrop Grumman had a return on equity of 25.57% and a net margin of 9.97%.The business had revenue of $11.71 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $11.61 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $6.39 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Northrop Grumman has set its FY 2026 guidance at 27.400-27.900 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Northrop Grumman Corporation will post 28.05 EPS for the current year.

Northrop Grumman Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, December 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 1st were given a $2.31 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 1st. This represents a $9.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.3%. Northrop Grumman’s dividend payout ratio is 31.72%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Kathy J. Warden sold 7,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, January 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $600.00, for a total value of $4,200,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 194,602 shares in the company, valued at $116,761,200. This represents a 3.47% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Mark A. Welsh III sold 97 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $564.08, for a total transaction of $54,715.76. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 4,281 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,414,826.48. The trade was a 2.22% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 10,192 shares of company stock worth $6,164,745 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.23% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Northrop Grumman

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Brighton Jones LLC grew its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman by 176.3% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 2,970 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $1,394,000 after buying an additional 1,895 shares in the last quarter. Bison Wealth LLC grew its stake in Northrop Grumman by 5.3% during the 4th quarter. Bison Wealth LLC now owns 641 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $301,000 after acquiring an additional 32 shares in the last quarter. Woodline Partners LP increased its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman by 367.7% in the 1st quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 2,516 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $1,288,000 after purchasing an additional 1,978 shares during the period. Vontobel Holding Ltd. lifted its position in shares of Northrop Grumman by 45.9% in the second quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. now owns 2,445 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $1,222,000 after purchasing an additional 769 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Callan Family Office LLC lifted its position in shares of Northrop Grumman by 119.6% in the second quarter. Callan Family Office LLC now owns 2,576 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $1,288,000 after purchasing an additional 1,403 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 (NYSE: NOC) is a leading U.S.-based aerospace and defense company that designs, builds and sustains advanced systems, products and technologies for government and commercial customers. Formed through the combination of Northrop and Grumman businesses in the 1990s, the company’s portfolio spans manned and unmanned aircraft, space systems, missile defense, radar and sensor systems, and integrated command, control, communications, computers, intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (C4ISR) solutions.

The company’s work includes airframe and platform manufacturing, space hardware and satellite systems, advanced mission systems and cybersecurity services, as well as logistics, sustainment and modernization programs.