Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) Upgraded at Guggenheim

Guggenheim upgraded shares of Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) to a strong-buy rating in a report published on Monday morning,Zacks reports.

Other research analysts have also issued research reports about the company. Robert W. Baird set a $500.00 price target on Northrop Grumman in a research note on Wednesday, July 22nd. Raymond James Financial reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Northrop Grumman in a research note on Monday, June 15th. UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of Northrop Grumman from $685.00 to $704.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 8th. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price target on shares of Northrop Grumman from $603.00 to $533.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, July 14th. Finally, Morgan Stanley set a $745.00 price objective on Northrop Grumman in a report on Wednesday, July 15th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have given a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Northrop Grumman currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $659.86.

Northrop Grumman Price Performance

NOC stock opened at $530.70 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $75.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.86, a PEG ratio of 3.11 and a beta of -0.11. The company has a current ratio of 1.17, a quick ratio of 1.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.81. Northrop Grumman has a 12-month low of $479.02 and a 12-month high of $774.00. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $542.98 and a 200-day moving average of $587.21.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, July 21st. The aerospace company reported $7.68 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $6.82 by $0.86. The firm had revenue of $10.88 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.80 billion. Northrop Grumman had a net margin of 10.48% and a return on equity of 24.25%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $8.15 EPS. Northrop Grumman has set its FY 2026 guidance at 28.600-29.100 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that Northrop Grumman will post 28.97 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Northrop Grumman Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 16th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 31st were given a dividend of $2.47 per share. This represents a $9.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 31st. Northrop Grumman’s payout ratio is presently 31.39%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Northrop Grumman news, Director Mark Welsh, III sold 95 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $547.53, for a total transaction of $52,015.35. Following the completion of the sale, the director 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 document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Corporate insiders own 0.21% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Northrop Grumman

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in NOC. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA boosted its stake 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 worth $41,914,000 after acquiring an additional 4,041 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Northrop Grumman by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,149,478 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $1,793,478,000 after purchasing an additional 17,948 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its position in shares of Northrop Grumman by 4.3% in the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 3,125,139 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $1,781,986,000 after purchasing an additional 128,855 shares during the period. Focus Partners Wealth raised its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 8.1% during the 4th quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 115,660 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $66,000,000 after buying an additional 8,706 shares during the period. Finally, ProShare Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman by 22.9% in the fourth quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 27,894 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $15,905,000 after buying an additional 5,193 shares during the period. 83.40% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Northrop Grumman

Northrop Grumman Corporation is a global aerospace and defense company that develops and delivers systems, platforms and technologies for government and commercial customers. Its activities include the design and production of military aircraft, autonomous systems, spacecraft, launch vehicles, missile-defense systems, command-and-control networks, cyber solutions, sensors and other mission-critical technologies.

The company serves the U.S. Department of Defense, other U.S. government agencies and international customers.