JPMorgan Chase & Co. Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) Stock

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) had its price target increased by analysts at JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $600.00 to $605.00 in a research note issued on Monday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has a “neutral” rating on the aerospace company’s stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co.‘s price target indicates a potential upside of 8.20% from the stock’s previous close.

A number of other research analysts have also commented on NOC. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “hold” rating and issued a $585.00 price objective on shares of Northrop Grumman in a research report on Sunday. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on Northrop Grumman from $533.00 to $538.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, July 27th. TD Cowen cut their price target on Northrop Grumman from $590.00 to $540.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 9th. Guggenheim raised their price target on Northrop Grumman from $612.00 to $640.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 21st. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price objective on Northrop Grumman from $694.00 to $698.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Fifteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Northrop Grumman currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $642.26.

Northrop Grumman Price Performance

Shares of NOC traded up $7.72 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $559.16. 202,418 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 924,796. Northrop Grumman has a one year low of $470.06 and a one year high of $774.00. The company has a current ratio of 1.23, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77. The business has a 50-day moving average of $521.15 and a 200 day moving average of $546.89. The stock has a market capitalization of $79.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.65, a PEG ratio of 3.02 and a beta of -0.11.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 20th. The aerospace company reported $7.89 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $7.18 by $0.71. Northrop Grumman had a net margin of 10.37% and a return on equity of 23.46%. The business had revenue of $11.12 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $11.14 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $7.67 earnings per share. Northrop Grumman’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts expect that Northrop Grumman will post 29.53 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Northrop Grumman

In related news, Director Mark Welsh, III sold 95 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $547.53, for a total value of $52,015.35. Following the sale, the director directly owned 4,393 shares in the company, valued at $2,405,299.29. This trade represents a 2.12% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Company insiders own 0.21% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Northrop Grumman

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in NOC. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA lifted its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman by 7.0% during the 1st quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 61,436 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $41,914,000 after purchasing an additional 4,041 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 1.3% during the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 13,169,195 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $6,707,203,000 after buying an additional 168,267 shares during the period. Jupiter Topco LLC bought a new position in Northrop Grumman in the second quarter valued at approximately $3,308,000. Bank of America Corp DE bought a new position in Northrop Grumman in the second quarter valued at approximately $1,298,141,000. Finally, Sage Capital Advisors llc bought a new position in Northrop Grumman in the third quarter valued at approximately $5,773,000. Institutional investors own 83.40% of the company’s stock.

Northrop Grumman Company Profile

Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC) is a global aerospace and defense company that develops and produces systems for government and commercial customers, with the U.S. government representing its primary customer base. The company operates across aerospace, defense, space, cybersecurity and advanced technology markets.

Its products and services include military aircraft and autonomous systems, space systems and satellites, missile defense technologies, command-and-control systems, cyber solutions, sensors, communications networks and other mission-critical systems.