Wells Fargo & Company Begins Coverage on Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC)

Research analysts at Wells Fargo & Company started coverage on shares of Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) in a note issued to investors on Wednesday, Marketbeat reports. The firm set an “overweight” rating and a $800.00 price target on the aerospace company’s stock. Wells Fargo & Company‘s price target would indicate a potential upside of 13.66% from the company’s previous close.

Several other analysts have also issued reports on NOC. Alembic Global Advisors raised shares of Northrop Grumman from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $662.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Monday, December 15th. UBS Group lifted their target price on Northrop Grumman from $777.00 to $778.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 28th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on Northrop Grumman from $630.00 to $690.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday, February 1st. Susquehanna reissued a “positive” rating and issued a $752.00 price target on shares of Northrop Grumman in a report on Thursday, January 15th. Finally, Argus set a $785.00 price objective on shares of Northrop Grumman in a research note on Tuesday, February 10th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have issued a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Northrop Grumman currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $708.65.

Northrop Grumman Stock Performance

Shares of NOC stock opened at $703.88 on Wednesday. Northrop Grumman has a one year low of $450.13 and a one year high of $774.00. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $709.26 and a 200-day moving average of $630.60. 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 company has a market cap of $99.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.16, a P/E/G ratio of 5.17 and a beta of 0.04.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 27th. The aerospace company reported $7.23 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.97 by $0.26. The company had revenue of $11.71 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $11.61 billion. Northrop Grumman had a net margin of 9.97% and a return on equity of 25.57%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 9.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $6.39 EPS. Northrop Grumman has set its FY 2026 guidance at 27.400-27.900 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Northrop Grumman will post 28.05 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Northrop Grumman news, CAO Michael A. Hardesty sold 147 shares of Northrop Grumman stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $732.98, for a total value of $107,748.06. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 2,525 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,850,774.50. The trade was a 5.50% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Mark A. Welsh III sold 95 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $684.52, for a total transaction of $65,029.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 4,203 shares in the company, valued at $2,877,037.56. The trade was a 2.21% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 32,431 shares of company stock valued at $21,969,404. 0.23% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Northrop Grumman

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in NOC. Purpose Unlimited Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Northrop Grumman in the 4th quarter worth approximately $403,000. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. increased its position in Northrop Grumman by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. now owns 38,076 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $21,712,000 after buying an additional 316 shares in the last quarter. World Investment Advisors increased its position in Northrop Grumman by 70.1% during the 4th quarter. World Investment Advisors now owns 4,497 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $2,564,000 after buying an additional 1,853 shares in the last quarter. Meadowbrook Advisors Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Northrop Grumman during the fourth quarter valued at $627,000. Finally, Corient Private Wealth LLC raised its position in shares of Northrop Grumman by 13.6% in the 4th quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 77,515 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $44,205,000 after purchasing an additional 9,272 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.40% of the company’s stock.

Trending Headlines about Northrop Grumman

Here are the key news stories impacting Northrop Grumman this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Citigroup raised its price target on NOC to $807 and kept a “buy” rating, signaling roughly mid‑teens upside from recent levels; this is a material upward revision to street expectations. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Wells Fargo initiated/expanded coverage on Northrop Grumman with an overweight / strong‑buy posture and an ~$800 price target, adding institutional analyst support that can boost demand for the stock. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Zacks upgraded NOC to “strong‑buy,” adding another favorable independent signal from the sell‑side/independent research community. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Product/program tailwinds: Northrop demonstrated an autonomous Lumberjack UAS in an Army exercise and has recent EW (SEWIP Block 3) wins and a Navy contract extension, supporting near‑ and mid‑term revenue/valuation justification for a premium multiple. Article Title Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Space program exposure: broader coverage of aerospace/space themes around NASA’s Artemis II highlights additional growth opportunities for prime contractors, a modest positive tailwind but with timing uncertainty. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Supply‑chain/contract ecosystem note: an Oklahoma supplier, Long Wave, tripled headcount on a $350M Navy training systems award — a sign of contract flow into the supplier base but only an indirect benefit to NOC. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Political risk: commentary that the U.S. could reconsider NATO commitments and related rhetoric raises headline risk and policy uncertainty for the defense sector, which could cause volatility despite longer‑term budget tailwinds. Article Title

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.