Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC) Receives $651.18 Average Price Target from Analysts

Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC) has been assigned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the twenty-one brokerages that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average 12-month target price among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $651.1765.

NOC has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. BNP Paribas raised Northrop Grumman to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 18th. BNP Paribas Exane began coverage on shares of Northrop Grumman in a research report on Tuesday, November 18th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $710.00 price objective for the company. BTIG Research upped their price objective on shares of Northrop Grumman from $630.00 to $680.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 22nd. Citigroup assumed coverage on shares of Northrop Grumman in a research report on Thursday, December 11th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $654.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $714.00 target price on shares of Northrop Grumman in a report on Tuesday, December 16th.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Mark A. Welsh III sold 97 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $564.08, for a total value of $54,715.76. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 4,281 shares in the company, valued at $2,414,826.48. The trade was a 2.22% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.23% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Northrop Grumman

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of NOC. Financial Life Planners bought a new stake in Northrop Grumman in the 3rd quarter valued at about $27,000. Physician Wealth Advisors Inc. raised its position in shares of Northrop Grumman by 200.0% in the third quarter. Physician Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 48 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 32 shares in the last quarter. Parvin Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Northrop Grumman in the second quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Hopwood Financial Services Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Northrop Grumman in the third quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Finally, KERR FINANCIAL PLANNING Corp bought a new stake in shares of Northrop Grumman in the third quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Institutional investors own 83.40% of the company’s stock.

Northrop Grumman Stock Performance

Shares of NOC opened at $579.84 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $572.51 and a 200-day moving average of $564.37. Northrop Grumman has a one year low of $426.24 and a one year high of $640.90. The company has a market cap of $82.75 billion, a PE ratio of 20.86, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.03 and a beta of 0.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 1.11 and a quick ratio of 0.98.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, October 21st. The aerospace company reported $7.67 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $6.43 by $1.24. The business had revenue of $10.42 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.68 billion. Northrop Grumman had a net margin of 9.82% and a return on equity of 25.49%. Northrop Grumman’s revenue was up 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $7.00 EPS. Northrop Grumman has set its FY 2025 guidance at 25.650-26.050 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Northrop Grumman will post 28.05 earnings per share for the current year.

Northrop Grumman Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, December 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 1st were given a $2.31 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 1st. This represents a $9.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.6%. Northrop Grumman’s dividend payout ratio is presently 33.24%.

About Northrop Grumman

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.