Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC) Receives Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

Shares of Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC) have earned a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the twenty-one brokerages that are covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, twelve have assigned a buy recommendation and two have issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average twelve-month target price among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $702.6316.

A number of research firms have weighed in on NOC. UBS Group dropped their price objective on shares of Northrop Grumman from $806.00 to $745.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company began coverage on shares of Northrop Grumman in a research note on Wednesday, April 1st. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $800.00 price objective on the stock. Citigroup dropped their price objective on shares of Northrop Grumman from $742.00 to $628.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, May 18th. BTIG Research reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $815.00 price objective on shares of Northrop Grumman in a research note on Wednesday, April 22nd. Finally, Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on shares of Northrop Grumman from $765.00 to $745.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 22nd.

Northrop Grumman Stock Down 5.1%

Shares of NYSE NOC opened at $521.85 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $74.12 billion, a PE ratio of 16.33, a P/E/G ratio of 3.75 and a beta of -0.12. Northrop Grumman has a 12-month low of $481.28 and a 12-month high of $774.00. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $577.31 and its 200 day simple moving average is $630.06. The company has a quick ratio of 1.04, a current ratio of 1.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.84.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, April 21st. The aerospace company reported $6.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $6.06 by $0.08. Northrop Grumman had a net margin of 10.80% and a return on equity of 24.72%. The business had revenue of $9.88 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.75 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $6.06 earnings per share. Northrop Grumman’s revenue was up 4.4% on a year-over-year basis. Northrop Grumman has set its FY 2026 guidance at 27.400-27.900 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Northrop Grumman will post 27.93 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Northrop Grumman Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 1st were paid a $2.47 dividend. This represents a $9.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.9%. This is a positive change from Northrop Grumman’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.31. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 1st. Northrop Grumman’s payout ratio is 30.92%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. FAS Wealth Partners Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman by 14.0% in the first quarter. FAS Wealth Partners Inc. now owns 408 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $278,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares during the last quarter. Pine Valley Investments Ltd Liability Co raised its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman by 787.7% in the first quarter. Pine Valley Investments Ltd Liability Co now owns 3,977 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $2,713,000 after purchasing an additional 3,529 shares during the last quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman by 4.4% in the first quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 3,420 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $2,334,000 after purchasing an additional 144 shares during the last quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman by 49.5% in the first quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 26,383 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $17,999,000 after purchasing an additional 8,735 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Optiver Holding B.V. purchased a new stake in shares of Northrop Grumman in the first quarter valued at about $725,000. 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.