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

Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC) has received a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the twenty ratings firms that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat reports. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average 1-year target price among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $661.30.

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $620.00 price target on shares of Northrop Grumman in a research report on Wednesday, July 8th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $615.00 price objective on shares of Northrop Grumman in a report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Raymond James Financial reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Northrop Grumman in a research note on Monday, June 15th. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Northrop Grumman from $666.00 to $685.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein restated a “market perform” rating and set a $653.00 target price on shares of Northrop Grumman in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th.

Northrop Grumman Trading Down 1.4%

NYSE:NOC opened at $532.40 on Friday. Northrop Grumman has a 12 month low of $479.02 and a 12 month high of $774.00. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $543.37 and a 200-day simple moving average of $602.06. The company has a current ratio of 1.17, a quick ratio of 1.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.81. The company has a market capitalization of $75.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.91, a PEG ratio of 3.49 and a beta of -0.11.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, July 21st. The aerospace company reported $7.68 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $6.82 by $0.86. The firm had revenue of $10.88 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.80 billion. Northrop Grumman had a return on equity of 24.25% and a net margin of 10.48%.The firm’s revenue was up 5.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $8.15 EPS. Northrop Grumman has set its FY 2026 guidance at 28.600-29.100 EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Northrop Grumman will post 28.97 earnings per share for the current year.

Northrop Grumman Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 16th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 31st will be issued a $2.47 dividend. This represents a $9.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 31st. Northrop Grumman’s payout ratio is 31.39%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Mark A. Welsh III sold 95 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $547.53, for a total value of $52,015.35. Following the sale, the director owned 4,393 shares in the company, valued at $2,405,299.29. This represents a 2.12% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. 0.21% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of NOC. Financial Life Planners purchased a new position in shares of Northrop Grumman during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Torren Management LLC purchased a new stake in Northrop Grumman during the fourth quarter worth $26,000. Karpus Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Northrop Grumman during the fourth quarter worth $26,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC grew its position in Northrop Grumman by 380.0% during the first quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC now owns 48 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 38 shares during the period. Finally, Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC acquired a new stake in Northrop Grumman during the fourth quarter valued at $29,000. 83.40% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.