Susquehanna Increases Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) Price Target to $560.00

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) had its target price boosted by Susquehanna from $540.00 to $560.00 in a research note published on Friday morning, Benzinga reports. They currently have a positive rating on the aerospace company’s stock.

A number of other equities research analysts have also recently commented on the company. StockNews.com cut Northrop Grumman from a buy rating to a hold rating in a report on Monday, January 29th. Alembic Global Advisors raised Northrop Grumman from a neutral rating to an overweight rating and set a $532.00 price target on the stock in a report on Monday, April 22nd. TheStreet lowered shares of Northrop Grumman from a b+ rating to a c+ rating in a report on Thursday, January 25th. Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on shares of Northrop Grumman from $475.00 to $505.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a report on Friday. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a sector perform rating and set a $450.00 target price (down from $515.00) on shares of Northrop Grumman in a research note on Friday, January 26th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Northrop Grumman presently has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $503.00.

Northrop Grumman Trading Up 1.2 %

Northrop Grumman stock opened at $486.22 on Friday. Northrop Grumman has a 12-month low of $414.56 and a 12-month high of $496.89. The firm has a market capitalization of $71.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.00, a P/E/G ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 0.35. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $463.30 and a 200 day moving average of $465.78. The company has a current ratio of 1.13, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 25th. The aerospace company reported $6.32 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.83 by $0.49. The firm had revenue of $10.13 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.77 billion. Northrop Grumman had a net margin of 5.38% and a return on equity of 24.09%. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $5.50 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts predict that Northrop Grumman will post 24.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Northrop Grumman Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 13th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 26th were paid a $1.87 dividend. This represents a $7.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.54%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 23rd. Northrop Grumman’s payout ratio is 52.31%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Northrop Grumman news, VP Kathryn G. Simpson sold 711 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $453.22, for a total transaction of $322,239.42. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 2,024 shares in the company, valued at $917,317.28. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, VP Kathryn G. Simpson sold 711 shares of Northrop Grumman stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $453.22, for a total transaction of $322,239.42. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 2,024 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $917,317.28. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CAO Michael A. Hardesty sold 210 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $454.68, for a total transaction of $95,482.80. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 3,127 shares in the company, valued at $1,421,784.36. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 3,149 shares of company stock worth $1,421,147 over the last three months. 0.22% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Northrop Grumman

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of NOC. Koshinski Asset Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman by 8.3% during the third quarter. Koshinski Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,100 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $484,000 after purchasing an additional 84 shares during the period. CX Institutional boosted its position in Northrop Grumman by 6.2% in the 3rd quarter. CX Institutional now owns 648 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $285,000 after buying an additional 38 shares during the period. UMB Bank n.a. grew its stake in Northrop Grumman by 15.6% in the 3rd quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 1,511 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $665,000 after acquiring an additional 204 shares in the last quarter. Aaron Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Northrop Grumman by 9.4% during the third quarter. Aaron Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 882 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $388,000 after acquiring an additional 76 shares during the period. Finally, Simplicity Solutions LLC raised its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman by 6.3% during the third quarter. Simplicity Solutions LLC now owns 7,342 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $3,232,000 after acquiring an additional 436 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.40% of the company’s stock.

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.