Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC) Given Consensus Rating of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

Shares of Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC) have been assigned a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the twenty-two analysts that are covering the company, MarketBeat reports. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average 12-month price objective among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $688.7895.

NOC has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Bank of America raised their price objective on shares of Northrop Grumman from $685.00 to $750.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 28th. Citigroup upped their target price on shares of Northrop Grumman from $715.00 to $781.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 28th. Sanford C. Bernstein reaffirmed a “market perform” rating and issued a $727.00 price target on shares of Northrop Grumman in a research report on Monday, January 12th. BNP Paribas Exane began coverage on Northrop Grumman in a report on Tuesday, November 18th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $710.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Morgan Stanley restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $765.00 target price on shares of Northrop Grumman in a report on Wednesday, January 28th.

Northrop Grumman Stock Performance

Shares of Northrop Grumman stock opened at $709.77 on Monday. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $612.48 and a 200 day simple moving average of $595.00. Northrop Grumman has a one year low of $426.24 and a one year high of $711.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 1.10 and a quick ratio of 1.01. The firm has a market capitalization of $100.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.37, a PEG ratio of 5.27 and a beta of 0.04.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 27th. The aerospace company reported $7.23 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.97 by $0.26. Northrop Grumman had a return on equity of 25.57% and a net margin of 9.97%.The firm had revenue of $11.71 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $11.61 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $6.39 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Northrop Grumman has set its FY 2026 guidance at 27.400-27.900 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that Northrop Grumman will post 28.05 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Northrop Grumman Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, December 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 1st were paid a dividend of $2.31 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 1st. This represents a $9.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.3%. Northrop Grumman’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 31.72%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Northrop Grumman

In other news, Director Mark A. Welsh III sold 95 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $684.52, for a total value of $65,029.40. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 4,203 shares in the company, valued at $2,877,037.56. This represents a 2.21% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Kathy J. Warden sold 3,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $615.00, for a total transaction of $1,845,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 191,602 shares in the company, valued at $117,835,230. The trade was a 1.54% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last quarter, insiders sold 10,192 shares of company stock valued at $6,164,745. Company insiders own 0.23% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Northrop Grumman

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of NOC. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its stake in Northrop Grumman by 176.3% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 2,970 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $1,394,000 after purchasing an additional 1,895 shares during the last quarter. Bison Wealth LLC raised its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman by 5.3% in the fourth quarter. Bison Wealth LLC now owns 641 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $301,000 after buying an additional 32 shares during the period. Woodline Partners LP lifted its position in shares of Northrop Grumman by 367.7% during the 1st quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 2,516 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $1,288,000 after buying an additional 1,978 shares during the last quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman by 45.9% during the 2nd quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. now owns 2,445 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $1,222,000 after acquiring an additional 769 shares during the period. Finally, Callan Family Office LLC increased its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 119.6% in the 2nd quarter. Callan Family Office LLC now owns 2,576 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $1,288,000 after acquiring an additional 1,403 shares during the last quarter. 83.40% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Northrop Grumman Company Profile

Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE: NOC) is a leading U.S.-based aerospace and defense company that designs, builds and sustains advanced systems, products and technologies for government and commercial customers. Formed through the combination of Northrop and Grumman businesses in the 1990s, the company’s portfolio spans manned and unmanned aircraft, space systems, missile defense, radar and sensor systems, and integrated command, control, communications, computers, intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (C4ISR) solutions.

The company’s work includes airframe and platform manufacturing, space hardware and satellite systems, advanced mission systems and cybersecurity services, as well as logistics, sustainment and modernization programs.