StockNews.com Upgrades Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) to “Strong-Buy”

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) was upgraded by research analysts at StockNews.com from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Friday.

Several other equities analysts have also issued reports on the stock. Alembic Global Advisors lowered shares of Northrop Grumman from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $560.00 price objective on the stock. in a report on Tuesday, August 27th. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Northrop Grumman from $500.00 to $550.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 29th. UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of Northrop Grumman from $614.00 to $643.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. Susquehanna lifted their price objective on shares of Northrop Grumman from $560.00 to $625.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. Finally, Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of Northrop Grumman from $521.00 to $587.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Northrop Grumman presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $550.56.

Northrop Grumman Stock Down 1.4 %

Shares of NYSE:NOC opened at $479.57 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.09, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.00. Northrop Grumman has a 12 month low of $418.60 and a 12 month high of $555.57. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $513.61 and a 200 day moving average price of $487.60. The company has a market cap of $69.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.71, a PEG ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 0.33.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 24th. The aerospace company reported $7.00 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $6.07 by $0.93. The business had revenue of $10 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.18 billion. Northrop Grumman had a net margin of 5.79% and a return on equity of 26.57%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 2.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $6.18 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Northrop Grumman will post 25.93 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at Northrop Grumman

In other news, VP Benjamin R. Davies sold 1,156 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $532.93, for a total value of $616,067.08. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 537 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $286,183.41. This represents a 68.28 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In the last quarter, insiders sold 1,222 shares of company stock valued at $650,575. Corporate insiders own 0.22% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Northrop Grumman

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Kingswood Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Northrop Grumman in the 2nd quarter valued at $212,000. Capital Investment Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Northrop Grumman by 1.1% in the 2nd quarter. Capital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 2,068 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $902,000 after buying an additional 23 shares during the last quarter. Optimum Investment Advisors grew its position in shares of Northrop Grumman by 241.2% in the 2nd quarter. Optimum Investment Advisors now owns 58 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 41 shares during the last quarter. IAM Advisory LLC grew its position in shares of Northrop Grumman by 2.0% in the 2nd quarter. IAM Advisory LLC now owns 3,850 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $1,678,000 after buying an additional 76 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Czech National Bank grew its position in shares of Northrop Grumman by 6.8% in the 2nd quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 26,509 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $11,557,000 after buying an additional 1,694 shares during the last quarter. 83.40% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Northrop Grumman Company Profile

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.