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 recommendation, ten have assigned a buy recommendation and two have given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year price objective among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $708.65.

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on NOC shares. Sanford C. Bernstein reaffirmed a “market perform” rating and set a $727.00 price target on shares of Northrop Grumman in a report on Monday, January 12th. Alembic Global Advisors raised shares of Northrop Grumman from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $662.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Monday, December 15th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on shares of Northrop Grumman from $630.00 to $690.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday, February 1st. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $765.00 target price on shares of Northrop Grumman in a report on Wednesday, January 28th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $765.00 price target on shares of Northrop Grumman in a research note on Thursday, January 29th.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Mark A. Welsh III sold 95 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the director directly owned 4,203 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,877,037.56. This trade represents a 2.21% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Michael A. Hardesty sold 147 shares of Northrop Grumman stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $732.98, for a total value of $107,748.06. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 2,525 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,850,774.50. This trade represents a 5.50% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last quarter, insiders sold 32,431 shares of company stock valued at $21,969,404. Corporate insiders own 0.23% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Northrop Grumman

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

Northrop Grumman Price Performance

Shares of NOC opened at $703.88 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a current ratio of 1.10. Northrop Grumman has a fifty-two week low of $450.13 and a fifty-two week high of $774.00. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $709.88 and a 200-day simple moving average of $631.86. The company has a market capitalization of $99.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.16, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.21 and a beta of 0.04.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 27th. The aerospace company reported $7.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 firm had revenue of $11.71 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $11.61 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $6.39 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.6% on a year-over-year basis. Northrop Grumman has set its FY 2026 guidance at 27.400-27.900 EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Northrop Grumman will post 28.05 earnings per share for the current year.

Northrop Grumman Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 11th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 23rd were given a dividend of $2.31 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 23rd. This represents a $9.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.3%. Northrop Grumman’s payout ratio is presently 31.72%.

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.