Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC) Stock Now Rated “Moderate Buy” by Sell-Side Analysts

Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC) has been assigned an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the twenty-one research firms that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat reports. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average 12-month price objective among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $658.29.

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on NOC shares. Citigroup upped their price target on Northrop Grumman from $617.00 to $667.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 13th. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price objective on Northrop Grumman from $620.00 to $580.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, June 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on Northrop Grumman from $635.00 to $600.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, July 23rd. Robert W. Baird set a $500.00 target price on Northrop Grumman in a report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Finally, Susquehanna reduced their price target on shares of Northrop Grumman from $785.00 to $655.00 and set a “positive” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 22nd.

Insider Buying and Selling at Northrop Grumman

In other Northrop Grumman news, Director Mark Welsh, III sold 95 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $547.53, for a total value of $52,015.35. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 4,393 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,405,299.29. This trade represents a 2.12% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Company insiders own 0.21% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Northrop Grumman

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in NOC. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA raised its position in Northrop Grumman by 7.0% in the 1st quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 61,436 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $41,914,000 after buying an additional 4,041 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,149,478 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $1,793,478,000 after acquiring an additional 17,948 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 4.3% during the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 3,125,139 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $1,781,986,000 after acquiring an additional 128,855 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman by 1.3% in the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 13,169,195 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $6,707,203,000 after acquiring an additional 168,267 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Focus Partners Wealth grew its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman by 8.1% in the 4th quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 115,660 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $66,000,000 after acquiring an additional 8,706 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.40% of the company’s stock.

Northrop Grumman Trading Up 0.2%

NYSE:NOC opened at $510.16 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.17, a quick ratio of 1.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.81. The stock has a market capitalization of $72.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.21, a PEG ratio of 2.99 and a beta of -0.11. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $541.29 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $576.92. Northrop Grumman has a 12 month low of $479.02 and a 12 month high of $774.00.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 21st. The aerospace company reported $7.68 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $6.82 by $0.86. The firm had revenue of $10.88 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.80 billion. Northrop Grumman had a net margin of 10.48% and a return on equity of 24.25%. The business’s revenue was up 5.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $8.15 earnings per share. Northrop Grumman has set its FY 2026 guidance at 28.600-29.100 EPS. Analysts expect that Northrop Grumman will post 28.97 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Northrop Grumman Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 31st were issued a dividend of $2.47 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 31st. This represents a $9.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.9%. Northrop Grumman’s dividend payout ratio is presently 31.39%.

About Northrop Grumman

Northrop Grumman Corporation is a global aerospace and defense company that develops and delivers systems, platforms and technologies for government and commercial customers. Its activities include the design and production of military aircraft, autonomous systems, spacecraft, launch vehicles, missile-defense systems, command-and-control networks, cyber solutions, sensors and other mission-critical technologies.

The company serves the U.S. Department of Defense, other U.S. government agencies and international customers.