Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC) Receives Average Rating of "Moderate Buy" from Brokerages

Key Points

• Northrop Grumman has received a consensus recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from eighteen analysts, with an average 12-month target price of $586.79.
• The company's quarterly earnings beat analysts' expectations, reporting an EPS of $7.11 and revenue of $10.35 billion.
• Northrop Grumman recently increased its quarterly dividend to $2.31, reflecting a 1.6% dividend yield and a payout ratio of 34.06%.

Shares of Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC - Get Free Report) have been assigned an average recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from the eighteen research firms that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average 12 month price objective among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $586.7857.

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed a "hold" rating and set a $542.00 price target (down previously from $580.00) on shares of Northrop Grumman in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of Northrop Grumman from $480.00 to $585.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company reaffirmed an "overweight" rating on shares of Northrop Grumman in a report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Northrop Grumman from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Finally, Truist Financial reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $625.00 target price (up from $550.00) on shares of Northrop Grumman in a research report on Wednesday, July 23rd.

Insider Buying and Selling at Northrop Grumman

In related news, VP Roshan S. Roeder sold 991 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $490.00, for a total value of $485,590.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president directly owned 319 shares of the company's stock, valued at $156,310. This represents a 75.65% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, VP Robert J. Fleming sold 3,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $505.77, for a total transaction of $1,770,195.00. Following the sale, the vice president directly owned 1,827 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $924,041.79. The trade was a 65.70% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 16,536 shares of company stock worth $8,306,857. 0.23% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Northrop Grumman

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 1.2% in the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 13,421,645 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $6,710,554,000 after buying an additional 155,344 shares during the period. Soundwatch Capital LLC purchased a new stake in Northrop Grumman in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $6,457,274,000. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its position in Northrop Grumman by 23.4% in the 1st quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 5,139,333 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $2,631,390,000 after purchasing an additional 974,633 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Northrop Grumman by 0.5% in the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,115,519 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $1,554,299,000 after purchasing an additional 14,980 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its position in Northrop Grumman by 11.8% in the 2nd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 2,933,061 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $1,466,472,000 after purchasing an additional 308,680 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.40% of the company's stock.

Northrop Grumman Stock Up 0.2%

NOC stock traded up $1.2990 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $586.1190. The company's stock had a trading volume of 470,683 shares, compared to its average volume of 882,543. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.98, a current ratio of 1.04 and a quick ratio of 0.93. Northrop Grumman has a twelve month low of $426.24 and a twelve month high of $594.68. The company's fifty day moving average price is $533.94 and its 200 day moving average price is $501.74. The stock has a market capitalization of $83.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.60, a PEG ratio of 5.60 and a beta of 0.15.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, July 22nd. The aerospace company reported $7.11 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $6.84 by $0.27. The business had revenue of $10.35 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.15 billion. Northrop Grumman had a net margin of 9.74% and a return on equity of 25.52%. Northrop Grumman's revenue was up 1.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $6.36 EPS. Northrop Grumman has set its FY 2025 guidance at 25.000-25.400 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Northrop Grumman will post 28.05 EPS for the current year.

About Northrop Grumman

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.