Susquehanna Lowers Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) Price Target to $557.00

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) had its target price reduced by Susquehanna from $625.00 to $557.00 in a report issued on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a “positive” rating on the aerospace company’s stock. Susquehanna’s price target points to a potential upside of 22.22% from the stock’s current price.

Several other research analysts have also issued reports on NOC. Barclays decreased their price target on shares of Northrop Grumman from $550.00 to $500.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday. UBS Group lifted their price objective on Northrop Grumman from $614.00 to $643.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. StockNews.com raised shares of Northrop Grumman from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. TD Cowen upgraded Northrop Grumman to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on Northrop Grumman from $500.00 to $540.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $551.40.

Northrop Grumman Trading Up 0.7 %

Shares of NOC stock traded up $3.34 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $455.73. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 95,976 shares, compared to its average volume of 651,246. The company has a current ratio of 1.09, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.00. Northrop Grumman has a one year low of $418.60 and a one year high of $555.57. The stock has a market capitalization of $66.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.24, a P/E/G ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 0.35. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $487.49 and its 200 day simple moving average is $492.42.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The aerospace company reported $7.00 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $6.07 by $0.93. Northrop Grumman had a net margin of 5.79% and a return on equity of 26.57%. The firm had revenue of $10 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $10.18 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $6.18 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 2.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts expect that Northrop Grumman will post 25.93 EPS for the current year.

Northrop Grumman declared that its board has approved a stock buyback program on Wednesday, December 11th that authorizes the company to repurchase $3.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the aerospace company to buy up to 4.3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are usually an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Northrop Grumman news, VP Benjamin R. Davies sold 1,156 shares of Northrop Grumman stock in a transaction on Monday, November 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $532.93, for a total transaction of $616,067.08. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 537 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $286,183.41. The trade was a 68.28 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders have sold 1,255 shares of company stock valued at $663,859 over the last ninety days. 0.22% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Northrop Grumman

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC bought a new stake in shares of Northrop Grumman in the 2nd quarter valued at about $47,000. Caprock Group LLC raised its position in shares of Northrop Grumman by 65.9% in the 2nd quarter. Caprock Group LLC now owns 2,561 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $1,117,000 after purchasing an additional 1,017 shares during the last quarter. Oak Thistle LLC acquired a new stake in Northrop Grumman in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $216,000. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC acquired a new position in Northrop Grumman during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $61,000. Finally, Prudential PLC grew its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman by 178.8% during the second quarter. Prudential PLC now owns 7,921 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $3,453,000 after buying an additional 5,080 shares during the last quarter. 83.40% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Northrop Grumman

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.