Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) Hits New 1-Year High – What’s Next?

Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC) shares reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $644.10 and last traded at $646.0770, with a volume of 295187 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $625.50.

Analyst Ratings Changes

NOC has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Sanford C. Bernstein reissued a “market perform” rating and issued a $727.00 price objective on shares of Northrop Grumman in a research note on Monday. BTIG Research lifted their price target on Northrop Grumman from $630.00 to $680.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 22nd. Morgan Stanley restated an “overweight” rating and set a $714.00 price objective on shares of Northrop Grumman in a research note on Tuesday, December 16th. Citigroup raised their price objective on Northrop Grumman from $654.00 to $715.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, Alembic Global Advisors upgraded shares of Northrop Grumman from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $662.00 target price for the company in a report on Monday, December 15th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have given a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Northrop Grumman has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $652.76.

Northrop Grumman Trading Up 3.8%

The stock has a market cap of $92.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.36, a P/E/G ratio of 5.11 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. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $572.14 and its 200-day moving average price is $574.60.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, October 21st. The aerospace company reported $7.67 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $6.43 by $1.24. The company had revenue of $10.42 billion for 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% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $7.00 EPS. Northrop Grumman has set its FY 2025 guidance at 25.650-26.050 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that Northrop Grumman Corporation will post 28.05 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Northrop Grumman Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, December 17th. Investors of record on Monday, December 1st were paid a $2.31 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 1st. This represents a $9.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.4%. Northrop Grumman’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 33.24%.

Insider Transactions at Northrop Grumman

In related news, Director Mark A. Welsh III sold 97 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the director owned 4,281 shares in the company, valued at $2,414,826.48. This represents a 2.22% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Kathy J. Warden sold 3,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $615.00, for a total value of $1,845,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 191,602 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $117,835,230. This trade represents a 1.54% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 10,097 shares of company stock valued at $6,099,716. 0.23% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in NOC. First United Bank & Trust raised its position in shares of Northrop Grumman by 641.0% in the second quarter. First United Bank & Trust now owns 778 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $389,000 after buying an additional 673 shares during the last quarter. Mitchell Mcleod Pugh & Williams Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman by 29.4% during the 2nd quarter. Mitchell Mcleod Pugh & Williams Inc. now owns 1,848 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $924,000 after purchasing an additional 420 shares during the period. Merit Financial Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman by 74.5% during the third quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC now owns 11,060 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $6,739,000 after purchasing an additional 4,721 shares during the last quarter. Mawer Investment Management Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of Northrop Grumman in the second quarter valued at $491,985,000. Finally, Oak Thistle LLC acquired a new position in Northrop Grumman in the third quarter valued at $1,015,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.40% of the company’s stock.

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.