Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) Lifted to “Buy” at StockNews.com

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) was upgraded by stock analysts at StockNews.com from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a note issued to investors on Friday.

NOC has been the topic of a number of other research reports. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on Northrop Grumman from $485.00 to $435.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, September 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of Northrop Grumman from $430.00 to $435.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft initiated coverage on shares of Northrop Grumman in a report on Wednesday, September 27th. They set a “buy” rating and a $502.00 price target on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $500.00 price objective on shares of Northrop Grumman in a report on Thursday, August 3rd. Finally, Bank of America lowered their target price on Northrop Grumman from $655.00 to $615.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, July 28th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $500.20.

Northrop Grumman Trading Up 1.6 %

NYSE NOC opened at $475.72 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $449.37 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $448.52. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a current ratio of 1.28. Northrop Grumman has a twelve month low of $414.56 and a twelve month high of $549.87. The stock has a market cap of $71.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.61, a PEG ratio of 7.10 and a beta of 0.42.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, October 26th. The aerospace company reported $6.18 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $5.81 by $0.37. The business had revenue of $9.78 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.58 billion. Northrop Grumman had a return on equity of 24.24% and a net margin of 12.07%. Northrop Grumman’s revenue was up 9.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $5.89 earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that Northrop Grumman will post 22.71 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, VP Mark A. Caylor sold 1,670 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $437.87, for a total value of $731,242.90. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 14,570 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,379,765.90. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, VP Mark A. Caylor sold 1,670 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $437.87, for a total value of $731,242.90. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 14,570 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,379,765.90. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, VP Roshan S. Roeder sold 1,007 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, October 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $465.00, for a total transaction of $468,255.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 913 shares in the company, valued at approximately $424,545. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.26% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Toth Financial Advisory Corp lifted its position in shares of Northrop Grumman by 19.1% in the 3rd quarter. Toth Financial Advisory Corp now owns 131 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $58,000 after acquiring an additional 21 shares during the period. Patten Group Inc. lifted its position in Northrop Grumman by 0.6% in the third quarter. Patten Group Inc. now owns 3,523 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $1,551,000 after purchasing an additional 22 shares during the period. IHT Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in Northrop Grumman by 1.6% during the first quarter. IHT Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,371 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $613,000 after buying an additional 22 shares in the last quarter. Cooper Financial Group increased its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 3.9% in the 2nd quarter. Cooper Financial Group now owns 612 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $279,000 after buying an additional 23 shares during the period. Finally, Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 0.7% in the 2nd quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 3,258 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $1,485,000 after buying an additional 23 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.40% of the company’s stock.

Northrop Grumman Company Profile

Northrop Grumman Corporation operates as an aerospace and defense company worldwide. The company's Aeronautics Systems segment designs, develops, manufactures, integrates, and sustains aircraft systems in the United States and internationally. 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.