Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) Price Target Increased to $560.00 by Analysts at Susquehanna

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) had its target price lifted by Susquehanna from $540.00 to $560.00 in a research report report published on Friday morning, Benzinga reports. Susquehanna currently has a positive rating on the aerospace company’s stock.

A number of other equities analysts have also commented on NOC. Alembic Global Advisors upgraded shares of Northrop Grumman from a neutral rating to an overweight rating and set a $532.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Monday, April 22nd. Royal Bank of Canada restated a sector perform rating and issued a $450.00 price objective (down from $515.00) on shares of Northrop Grumman in a research report on Friday, January 26th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Northrop Grumman from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research report on Monday, January 29th. TheStreet lowered shares of Northrop Grumman from a b+ rating to a c+ rating in a research report on Thursday, January 25th. Finally, Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on shares of Northrop Grumman from $475.00 to $505.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a research report on Friday. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of Hold and an average target price of $503.00.

Northrop Grumman Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:NOC opened at $480.45 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.05, a current ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04. The firm has a market capitalization of $71.20 billion, a PE ratio of 33.60, a P/E/G ratio of 1.96 and a beta of 0.35. Northrop Grumman has a twelve month low of $414.56 and a twelve month high of $496.89. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $462.59 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $465.77.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The aerospace company reported $6.32 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.83 by $0.49. The firm had revenue of $10.13 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.77 billion. Northrop Grumman had a net margin of 5.38% and a return on equity of 24.09%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 8.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $5.50 earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that Northrop Grumman will post 24.67 EPS for the current year.

Northrop Grumman Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 13th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 26th were paid a dividend of $1.87 per share. This represents a $7.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.56%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 23rd. Northrop Grumman’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 52.31%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Northrop Grumman news, CAO Michael A. Hardesty sold 210 shares of Northrop Grumman stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $454.68, for a total transaction of $95,482.80. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 3,127 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,421,784.36. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, VP Kathryn G. Simpson sold 1,273 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $450.37, for a total value of $573,321.01. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 2,735 shares in the company, valued at $1,231,761.95. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CAO Michael A. Hardesty sold 210 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $454.68, for a total transaction of $95,482.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 3,127 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,421,784.36. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 3,149 shares of company stock valued at $1,421,147. 0.22% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Northrop Grumman

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Headlands Technologies LLC bought a new stake in shares of Northrop Grumman during the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman by 960.0% during the 4th quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 53 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 48 shares in the last quarter. Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Northrop Grumman during the 3rd quarter valued at $29,000. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Northrop Grumman during the 4th quarter valued at $29,000. Finally, McIlrath & Eck LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman by 247.6% during the 4th quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC now owns 73 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 52 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 83.40% of the company’s stock.

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.