Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) Upgraded at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) from a buy rating to a strong-buy rating in a research note published on Saturday.

A number of other equities research analysts have also recently commented on NOC. Alembic Global Advisors upgraded shares of Northrop Grumman from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $662.00 price target for the company in a report on Monday, December 15th. BTIG Research upped their price objective on shares of Northrop Grumman from $680.00 to $815.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 28th. Susquehanna reissued a “positive” rating and set a $752.00 price objective on shares of Northrop Grumman in a research report on Thursday, January 15th. Argus set a $785.00 target price on Northrop Grumman in a research note on Tuesday, February 10th. Finally, Citigroup boosted their target price on Northrop Grumman from $715.00 to $781.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 28th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have given a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $693.60.

Northrop Grumman Trading Down 3.8%

Shares of NOC stock opened at $679.99 on Friday. Northrop Grumman has a fifty-two week low of $450.13 and a fifty-two week high of $774.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a current ratio of 1.10. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $704.45 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $625.21. The company has a market cap of $96.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.34, a PEG ratio of 5.25 and a beta of 0.03.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 27th. The aerospace company reported $7.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.97 by $0.26. The firm had revenue of $11.71 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $11.61 billion. Northrop Grumman had a return on equity of 25.57% and a net margin of 9.97%.The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $6.39 EPS. Northrop Grumman has set its FY 2026 guidance at 27.400-27.900 EPS. Research analysts forecast that Northrop Grumman will post 28.05 earnings per share for the current year.

Northrop Grumman Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 11th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 23rd were issued a dividend of $2.31 per share. This represents a $9.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.4%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 23rd. Northrop Grumman’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 31.72%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Northrop Grumman

In related news, VP Benjamin R. Davies sold 2,189 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $719.61, for a total value of $1,575,226.29. Following the sale, the vice president owned 151 shares in the company, valued at $108,661.11. This represents a 93.55% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Kathy J. Warden sold 20,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $708.82, for a total transaction of $14,176,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 171,602 shares in the company, valued at approximately $121,634,929.64. The trade was a 10.44% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 32,431 shares of company stock valued at $21,969,404. Insiders own 0.23% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Northrop Grumman

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of NOC. Financial Life Planners purchased a new stake in shares of Northrop Grumman in the third quarter valued at about $27,000. Torren Management LLC bought a new stake in Northrop Grumman in the 4th quarter worth about $26,000. Karpus Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Northrop Grumman in the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. Physician Wealth Advisors Inc. increased its stake in Northrop Grumman by 200.0% in the 3rd 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 during the last quarter. Finally, Parvin Asset Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Northrop Grumman during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $25,000. 83.40% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.