Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) Sets New 12-Month High – Time to Buy?

Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC) reached a new 52-week high on Monday . The company traded as high as $758.82 and last traded at $756.4260, with a volume of 238992 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $724.38.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

NOC has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Susquehanna reissued a “positive” rating and set a $752.00 target price on shares of Northrop Grumman in a research note on Thursday, January 15th. Alembic Global Advisors raised shares of Northrop Grumman from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $662.00 price objective for the company in a report on Monday, December 15th. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their target price on shares of Northrop Grumman from $715.00 to $750.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 28th. Sanford C. Bernstein restated a “market perform” rating and set a $727.00 target price on shares of Northrop Grumman in a research report on Monday, January 12th. Finally, Truist Financial reaffirmed a “hold” rating and set a $623.00 target price (down from $688.00) on shares of Northrop Grumman in a research note on Friday, January 9th. One investment 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’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Northrop Grumman has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $693.60.

Northrop Grumman Price Performance

The company has a market cap of $107.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.89, a PEG ratio of 5.38 and a beta of 0.03. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $657.85 and its two-hundred day moving average is $608.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 1.10 and a quick ratio of 1.01.

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

Northrop Grumman Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 11th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 23rd will be given a dividend of $2.31 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, February 23rd. This represents a $9.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.2%. Northrop Grumman’s dividend payout ratio is 31.72%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Mark A. Welsh III sold 95 shares of the business’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 transaction of $65,029.40. Following the transaction, the director owned 4,203 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,877,037.56. The trade was a 2.21% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, VP Benjamin R. Davies sold 2,189 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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. The trade was a 93.55% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 32,431 shares of company stock worth $21,969,404 in the last 90 days. Company 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 NOC. Financial Life Planners purchased a new stake in Northrop Grumman in the 3rd quarter worth about $27,000. Torren Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Northrop Grumman during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Karpus Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Northrop Grumman in the fourth quarter worth approximately $26,000. Physician Wealth Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman by 200.0% during the 3rd quarter. Physician Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 48 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 32 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Parvin Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in Northrop Grumman during the 2nd quarter valued at $25,000. Institutional investors own 83.40% of the company’s stock.

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.