Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) Shares Gap Down Following Weak Earnings

Shares of Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) gapped down prior to trading on Tuesday after the company announced weaker than expected quarterly earnings. The stock had previously closed at $531.33, but opened at $484.75. Northrop Grumman shares last traded at $464.30, with a volume of 789,256 shares.

The aerospace company reported $6.06 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $6.33 by ($0.27). The company had revenue of $9.47 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.07 billion. Northrop Grumman had a net margin of 10.17% and a return on equity of 26.24%.

Northrop Grumman Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 19th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 3rd were given a $2.06 dividend. This represents a $8.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.78%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 3rd. Northrop Grumman’s payout ratio is 29.08%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently issued reports on the company. UBS Group reduced their price target on Northrop Grumman from $579.00 to $558.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Truist Financial boosted their target price on shares of Northrop Grumman from $545.00 to $600.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. Argus raised shares of Northrop Grumman to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised shares of Northrop Grumman from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $424.00 to $521.00 in a report on Friday, April 11th. Finally, Citigroup raised their target price on shares of Northrop Grumman from $587.00 to $591.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, February 10th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Northrop Grumman currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $548.88.

Insider Activity at Northrop Grumman

In other Northrop Grumman news, VP Benjamin R. Davies sold 192 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $429.08, for a total transaction of $82,383.36. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 709 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $304,217.72. The trade was a 21.31 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Kathy J. Warden sold 3,750 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $475.65, for a total transaction of $1,783,687.50. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 212,852 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $101,243,053.80. The trade was a 1.73 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 4,505 shares of company stock valued at $2,127,182 in the last quarter. Insiders own 0.23% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Northrop Grumman

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Redhawk Wealth Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 3.0% during the 1st quarter. Redhawk Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 644 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $330,000 after purchasing an additional 19 shares during the last quarter. Salvus Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 1.5% during the 1st quarter. Salvus Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,349 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $691,000 after acquiring an additional 20 shares during the period. IAG Wealth Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of Northrop Grumman by 8.4% during the 1st quarter. IAG Wealth Partners LLC now owns 271 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $139,000 after purchasing an additional 21 shares in the last quarter. Sapient Capital LLC increased its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. Sapient Capital LLC now owns 2,049 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $962,000 after purchasing an additional 22 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG increased its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 2.2% in the fourth quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG now owns 1,006 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $472,000 after purchasing an additional 22 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 83.40% of the company’s stock.

Northrop Grumman Stock Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $489.82 and a 200-day simple moving average of $491.26. The stock has a market capitalization of $66.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.36, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.73 and a beta of 0.20.

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.