Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) Rating Increased to Strong-Buy at BNP Paribas

BNP Paribas upgraded shares of Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) to a strong-buy rating in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday morning,Zacks.com reports.

Several other brokerages have also commented on NOC. Bank of America raised their price objective on Northrop Grumman from $550.00 to $650.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their target price on shares of Northrop Grumman from $600.00 to $625.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Northrop Grumman in a research report on Tuesday, October 14th. Wells Fargo & Company restated an “overweight” rating on shares of Northrop Grumman in a report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Finally, Truist Financial upped their price target on Northrop Grumman from $625.00 to $688.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 15th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have given a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $646.94.

Northrop Grumman Stock Performance

NYSE NOC traded up $4.49 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $569.49. 117,451 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 917,326. The company has a market capitalization of $81.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.49, a P/E/G ratio of 5.07 and a beta of 0.07. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a current ratio of 1.11. The business’s 50 day moving average is $589.45 and its 200-day moving average is $549.67. Northrop Grumman has a 1 year low of $426.24 and a 1 year high of $640.90.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 21st. The aerospace company reported $7.67 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.43 by $1.24. Northrop Grumman had a net margin of 9.82% and a return on equity of 25.49%. The business had revenue of $10.42 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.68 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $7.00 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Northrop Grumman has set its FY 2025 guidance at 25.650-26.050 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Northrop Grumman will post 28.05 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Northrop Grumman Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 17th. Investors of record on Monday, December 1st will be issued a dividend of $2.31 per share. This represents a $9.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.6%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 1st. Northrop Grumman’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 33.24%.

Institutional Trading of Northrop Grumman

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Coign Capital Advisors LLC increased its stake in Northrop Grumman by 1.3% during the 2nd quarter. Coign Capital Advisors LLC now owns 1,294 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $647,000 after buying an additional 17 shares during the period. Howard Financial Services LTD. grew its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman by 1.5% in the third quarter. Howard Financial Services LTD. now owns 1,127 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $687,000 after acquiring an additional 17 shares in the last quarter. West Wealth Group LLC grew its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman by 4.3% in the third quarter. West Wealth Group LLC now owns 412 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $251,000 after acquiring an additional 17 shares in the last quarter. King Luther Capital Management Corp increased its position in shares of Northrop Grumman by 1.5% during the second quarter. King Luther Capital Management Corp now owns 1,243 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $621,000 after acquiring an additional 18 shares during the period. Finally, Dakota Community Bank & Trust NA raised its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman by 6.9% in the third quarter. Dakota Community Bank & Trust NA now owns 278 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $169,000 after acquiring an additional 18 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.