Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) Upgraded to “Overweight” at Alembic Global Advisors

Alembic Global Advisors upgraded shares of Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) from a neutral rating to an overweight rating in a research note released on Monday, Marketbeat reports. Alembic Global Advisors currently has $532.00 price objective on the aerospace company’s stock.

Several other brokerages also recently commented on NOC. TheStreet downgraded shares of Northrop Grumman from a b+ rating to a c+ rating in a report on Thursday, January 25th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Northrop Grumman from a buy rating to a hold rating in a report on Monday, January 29th. Susquehanna dropped their target price on shares of Northrop Grumman from $560.00 to $540.00 and set a positive rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 26th. Royal Bank of Canada restated a sector perform rating and issued a $450.00 price target (down from $515.00) on shares of Northrop Grumman in a research report on Friday, January 26th. Finally, Robert W. Baird decreased their price target on shares of Northrop Grumman from $505.00 to $475.00 and set a neutral rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 26th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Northrop Grumman currently has a consensus rating of Hold and an average target price of $497.23.

Northrop Grumman Stock Down 0.0 %

Northrop Grumman stock opened at $474.57 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $70.33 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.21, a P/E/G ratio of 1.89 and a beta of 0.35. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $461.24 and its 200-day simple moving average is $465.55. The company has a current ratio of 1.15, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93. Northrop Grumman has a 1-year low of $414.56 and a 1-year high of $496.89.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, January 25th. The aerospace company reported $6.27 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $5.80 by $0.47. The firm had revenue of $10.64 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.43 billion. Northrop Grumman had a net margin of 5.23% and a return on equity of 23.07%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 6.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $7.50 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Northrop Grumman will post 24.67 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Northrop Grumman Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 13th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 26th were given a dividend of $1.87 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 23rd. This represents a $7.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.58%. Northrop Grumman’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 55.49%.

Insider Activity

In related news, VP Kathryn G. Simpson sold 1,273 shares of Northrop Grumman stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $450.37, for a total transaction of $573,321.01. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 2,735 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,231,761.95. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, CAO Michael A. Hardesty sold 210 shares of Northrop Grumman stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 21st. The shares were 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 directly owns 3,127 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,421,784.36. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, VP Kathryn G. Simpson sold 1,273 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $450.37, for a total transaction of $573,321.01. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 2,735 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,231,761.95. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 3,149 shares of company stock worth $1,421,147. Corporate insiders own 0.22% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Northrop Grumman

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of NOC. Headlands Technologies LLC bought a new position in shares of Northrop Grumman in the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. raised its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman by 960.0% in the fourth quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 53 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 48 shares during the last quarter. Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Northrop Grumman in the third quarter worth about $29,000. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Northrop Grumman in the fourth quarter worth about $29,000. Finally, McIlrath & Eck LLC raised its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman by 247.6% during the fourth quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC now owns 73 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 52 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.