Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) Stock Price Down 2.6% – What’s Next?

by · The Markets Daily

Shares of Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC – Get Free Report) dropped 2.6% during mid-day trading on Tuesday. The stock traded as low as $550.36 and last traded at $550.5380. 900,300 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 3% from the average session volume of 927,695 shares. The stock had previously closed at $565.41.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have weighed in on NOC. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “hold” rating and set a $585.00 price target on shares of Northrop Grumman in a report on Sunday. Rothschild & Co Redburn assumed coverage on Northrop Grumman in a research note on Tuesday, October 6th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $680.00 price objective on the stock. Guggenheim raised their target price on Northrop Grumman from $612.00 to $640.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 21st. Susquehanna lowered their target price on Northrop Grumman from $785.00 to $655.00 and set a “positive” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Finally, Citigroup increased their price target on Northrop Grumman from $617.00 to $667.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 13th. Fifteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Northrop Grumman has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $643.74.

View Our Latest Research Report on Northrop Grumman

Northrop Grumman Trading Down 2.6%

The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $522.58 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $592.96. The stock has a market capitalization of $78.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.37, a P/E/G ratio of 3.02 and a beta of -0.11. The company has a quick ratio of 1.14, a current ratio of 1.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC – Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 20th. The aerospace company reported $7.89 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $7.18 by $0.71. Northrop Grumman had a net margin of 10.37% and a return on equity of 23.46%. The company had revenue of $11.12 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $11.14 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $7.67 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 6.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts forecast that Northrop Grumman Corporation will post 29.53 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Northrop Grumman Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 31st were paid a $2.47 dividend. This represents a $9.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 31st. Northrop Grumman’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 31.17%.

Insider Activity at Northrop Grumman

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

Institutional Trading of Northrop Grumman

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Perkins Coie Trust Co acquired a new position in Northrop Grumman during the second quarter worth $29,000. Financial Life Planners bought a new stake in shares of Northrop Grumman during the first quarter worth about $30,000. Navigoe LLC bought a new position in Northrop Grumman in the 2nd quarter valued at about $30,000. Plato Investment Management Ltd bought a new position in Northrop Grumman in the 2nd quarter valued at about $30,000. Finally, Elevation Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new position in Northrop Grumman during the 3rd quarter valued at about $30,000. Institutional investors own 83.40% of the company’s stock.

About Northrop Grumman

(Get Free Report)

Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC) is a global aerospace and defense company that develops and produces systems for government and commercial customers, with the U.S. government representing its primary customer base. The company operates across aerospace, defense, space, cybersecurity and advanced technology markets.

Its products and services include military aircraft and autonomous systems, space systems and satellites, missile defense technologies, command-and-control systems, cyber solutions, sensors, communications networks and other mission-critical systems.

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