Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC) Receives Consensus Recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from Brokerages

Key Points

• Northrop Grumman received a “Moderate Buy” consensus rating from 20 brokerages, with 11 buys, eight holds and one strong buy. The average 12-month price target is $661.30, above the reported share price of $544.68.
• The company exceeded quarterly expectations, reporting $7.68 in EPS versus the $6.82 consensus and $10.88 billion in revenue. Quarterly revenue increased 5.1% year over year, while full-year EPS guidance was set at $28.60–$29.10.
• Northrop Grumman announced a quarterly dividend of $2.47 per share, equivalent to $9.88 annually and a 1.8% yield, with payment scheduled for September 16 to shareholders of record on August 31.

Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC - Get Free Report) has received an average rating of "Moderate Buy" from the twenty brokerages that are covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, eleven have assigned a buy recommendation and one has issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average 1-year price objective among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $661.30.

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Susquehanna lowered their price target on Northrop Grumman from $785.00 to $655.00 and set a "positive" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Sanford C. Bernstein reissued a "market perform" rating and issued a $653.00 target price on shares of Northrop Grumman in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. Weiss Ratings downgraded Northrop Grumman from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "hold (c)" rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 12th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $615.00 target price on Northrop Grumman in a report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Finally, Robert W. Baird set a $500.00 price target on Northrop Grumman in a report on Wednesday, July 22nd.

Northrop Grumman Stock Down 1.0%

Shares of NYSE NOC opened at $544.68 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.81, a quick ratio of 1.06 and a current ratio of 1.17. Northrop Grumman has a 1 year low of $479.02 and a 1 year high of $774.00. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $541.85 and its 200-day simple moving average is $605.19. The firm has a market cap of $77.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.30, a PEG ratio of 3.56 and a beta of -0.11.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, July 21st. The aerospace company reported $7.68 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $6.82 by $0.86. The company had revenue of $10.88 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.80 billion. Northrop Grumman had a return on equity of 24.25% and a net margin of 10.48%.Northrop Grumman's quarterly revenue was up 5.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $8.15 EPS. Northrop Grumman has set its FY 2026 guidance at 28.600-29.100 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Northrop Grumman will post 28.97 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Northrop Grumman Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 31st will be given a $2.47 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 31st. This represents a $9.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.8%. Northrop Grumman's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 31.39%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Northrop Grumman

In other Northrop Grumman news, Director Mark A. Welsh III sold 95 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $547.53, for a total transaction of $52,015.35. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 4,393 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,405,299.29. The trade was a 2.12% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. 0.21% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Northrop Grumman

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Amundi grew its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 8.5% in the 2nd quarter. Amundi now owns 113,526 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $57,820,000 after buying an additional 8,880 shares in the last quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC raised its stake in Northrop Grumman by 2.9% during the 2nd quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 93,693 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $47,719,000 after acquiring an additional 2,610 shares in the last quarter. VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al acquired a new position in Northrop Grumman during the 2nd quarter worth $57,037,000. California State Teachers Retirement System boosted its position in Northrop Grumman by 50,207.8% during the 2nd quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 105,745,489 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $53,857,235,000 after acquiring an additional 105,535,292 shares during the period. Finally, Ameritas Advisory Services LLC grew its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman by 171.4% in the second quarter. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC now owns 4,085 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $2,080,000 after purchasing an additional 2,580 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.40% of the company's stock.

About Northrop Grumman

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.

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