Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) PT Raised to $475.00 at Royal Bank of Canada

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) had its price target raised by equities research analysts at Royal Bank of Canada from $450.00 to $475.00 in a report released on Friday, Benzinga reports. The firm presently has a “sector perform” rating on the aerospace company’s stock. Royal Bank of Canada’s target price points to a potential downside of 1.13% from the company’s previous close.

A number of other research firms have also recently commented on NOC. StockNews.com cut shares of Northrop Grumman from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, January 29th. Robert W. Baird upped their price target on shares of Northrop Grumman from $475.00 to $505.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday. Susquehanna upped their price target on shares of Northrop Grumman from $540.00 to $560.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a research note on Friday. TheStreet lowered shares of Northrop Grumman from a “b+” rating to a “c+” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 25th. Finally, Alembic Global Advisors upgraded shares of Northrop Grumman from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $532.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 22nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Northrop Grumman presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $503.00.

Northrop Grumman Trading Down 1.6 %

NYSE:NOC opened at $480.45 on Friday. Northrop Grumman has a 52 week low of $414.56 and a 52 week high of $496.89. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $462.59 and a 200 day moving average of $465.77. The company has a quick ratio of 1.05, a current ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04. The stock has a market capitalization of $71.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.60, a PEG ratio of 1.96 and a beta of 0.35.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The aerospace company reported $6.32 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.83 by $0.49. Northrop Grumman had a net margin of 5.38% and a return on equity of 24.09%. The company had revenue of $10.13 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.77 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $5.50 earnings per share. Northrop Grumman’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Northrop Grumman will post 24.67 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, VP Kathryn G. Simpson sold 711 shares of the 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 sale, the vice president now directly owns 2,024 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $917,317.28. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In related news, CAO Michael A. Hardesty sold 210 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $454.68, for a total transaction of $95,482.80. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 3,127 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,421,784.36. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, VP Kathryn G. Simpson sold 711 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $453.22, for a total transaction of $322,239.42. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 2,024 shares in the company, valued at $917,317.28. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 3,149 shares of company stock valued at $1,421,147. Corporate insiders own 0.22% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Northrop Grumman

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in NOC. International Assets Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in Northrop Grumman during the fourth quarter valued at $283,114,000. Invesco Ltd. lifted its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 74.7% during the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,174,556 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $517,028,000 after purchasing an additional 502,060 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 10.1% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 4,488,412 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $1,975,754,000 after purchasing an additional 410,736 shares in the last quarter. London Co. of Virginia purchased a new position in Northrop Grumman during the third quarter valued at $165,786,000. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 29.2% during the third quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,605,679 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $706,804,000 after purchasing an additional 362,515 shares in the last quarter. 83.40% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.