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

Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC - Get Free Report) has received a consensus recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from the fifteen analysts that are covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, eight have issued a buy recommendation and one has given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month target price among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $552.54.

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. Wall Street Zen downgraded Northrop Grumman from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Royal Bank Of Canada lowered their price target on Northrop Grumman from $575.00 to $550.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded Northrop Grumman from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and increased their price target for the stock from $424.00 to $521.00 in a report on Friday, April 11th. Susquehanna lowered their price target on Northrop Grumman from $557.00 to $540.00 and set a "positive" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their price target on Northrop Grumman from $580.00 to $625.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 16th.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Kathy J. Warden sold 7,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $505.77, for a total value of $3,793,275.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 201,602 shares of the company's stock, valued at $101,964,243.54. This trade represents a 3.59% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, VP Thomas H. Jones sold 729 shares of Northrop Grumman stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $505.77, for a total value of $368,706.33. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 7,552 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,819,575.04. The trade was a 8.80% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 16,569 shares of company stock valued at $8,322,279 over the last three months. Insiders own 0.23% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. IMA Advisory Services Inc. bought a new position in Northrop Grumman during the 1st quarter worth $27,000. Saudi Central Bank bought a new position in Northrop Grumman during the 1st quarter worth $28,000. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise bought a new position in Northrop Grumman during the 1st quarter worth $30,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC bought a new position in Northrop Grumman during the 4th quarter worth $31,000. Finally, Wood Tarver Financial Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Northrop Grumman in the fourth quarter worth $32,000. Institutional investors own 83.40% of the company's stock.

Northrop Grumman Trading Up 0.2%

NYSE:NOC opened at $494.45 on Friday. Northrop Grumman has a 1-year low of $422.69 and a 1-year high of $555.57. The business's 50-day moving average price is $484.86 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $483.43. The company has a current ratio of 0.95, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95. The firm has a market capitalization of $71.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.51, a PEG ratio of 5.39 and a beta of 0.14.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, April 22nd. The aerospace company reported $6.06 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $6.33 by ($0.27). Northrop Grumman had a net margin of 9.19% and a return on equity of 25.46%. The company had revenue of $9.47 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.07 billion. On average, equities analysts expect that Northrop Grumman will post 28.05 earnings per share for the current year.

Northrop Grumman Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 18th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 2nd were paid a $2.31 dividend. This represents a $9.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.87%. This is an increase from Northrop Grumman's previous quarterly dividend of $2.06. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 2nd. Northrop Grumman's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 36.46%.

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.