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

Shares of Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC) have been assigned an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the twenty-one analysts that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month target price among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $693.60.

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. BTIG Research lifted their target price on Northrop Grumman from $680.00 to $815.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 28th. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their target price on shares of Northrop Grumman from $715.00 to $750.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 28th. Sanford C. Bernstein reiterated a “market perform” rating and issued a $727.00 price target on shares of Northrop Grumman in a research report on Monday, January 12th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Northrop Grumman in a research note on Monday, March 23rd. Finally, Citigroup increased their price target on Northrop Grumman from $715.00 to $781.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 28th.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Mark A. Welsh III sold 95 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $684.52, for a total value of $65,029.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 4,203 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,877,037.56. The trade was a 2.21% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, VP Benjamin R. Davies sold 2,189 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $719.61, for a total transaction of $1,575,226.29. Following the sale, the vice president owned 151 shares in the company, valued at $108,661.11. The trade was a 93.55% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold a total of 32,431 shares of company stock worth $21,969,404 over the last three months. Company insiders own 0.23% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Northrop Grumman

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Kestra Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in Northrop Grumman by 4.4% in the fourth quarter. Kestra Investment Management LLC now owns 353 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $201,000 after acquiring an additional 15 shares in the last quarter. Evolution Wealth Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Northrop Grumman by 6.8% during the fourth quarter. Evolution Wealth Management Inc. now owns 235 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $134,000 after purchasing an additional 15 shares in the last quarter. Howard Financial Services LTD. increased its position in shares of Northrop Grumman by 1.4% during the fourth quarter. Howard Financial Services LTD. now owns 1,143 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $651,000 after purchasing an additional 16 shares in the last quarter. Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC now owns 1,973 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $1,125,000 after purchasing an additional 16 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 4,012 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $2,288,000 after purchasing an additional 16 shares during the last quarter. 83.40% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Northrop Grumman Price Performance

Northrop Grumman stock opened at $669.87 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $95.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.00, a PEG ratio of 5.04 and a beta of 0.03. The company has a current ratio of 1.10, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91. Northrop Grumman has a 12 month low of $450.13 and a 12 month high of $774.00. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $707.39 and its 200-day moving average is $628.86.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 27th. The aerospace company reported $7.23 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $6.97 by $0.26. Northrop Grumman had a return on equity of 25.57% and a net margin of 9.97%.The business had revenue of $11.71 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $11.61 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $6.39 EPS. The firm’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. Equities research analysts expect that Northrop Grumman will post 28.05 EPS for the current year.

Northrop Grumman Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 11th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 23rd were issued a dividend of $2.31 per share. This represents a $9.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 23rd. Northrop Grumman’s dividend payout ratio is 31.72%.

About Northrop Grumman

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.