Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) Stock Rating Upgraded by StockNews.com

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) was upgraded by StockNews.com from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report issued on Tuesday.

A number of other equities research analysts also recently weighed in on NOC. TD Cowen raised shares of Northrop Grumman to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Northrop Grumman from $509.00 to $565.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised Northrop Grumman from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $474.00 to $575.00 in a research note on Monday, July 29th. Susquehanna upped their target price on Northrop Grumman from $560.00 to $625.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. Finally, Barclays increased their price target on Northrop Grumman from $500.00 to $550.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 29th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Northrop Grumman presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $550.56.

Northrop Grumman Stock Performance

Shares of Northrop Grumman stock traded down $2.32 on Tuesday, reaching $531.38. 650,221 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 861,636. The firm has a market cap of $77.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.92, a P/E/G ratio of 1.07 and a beta of 0.35. The company’s 50-day moving average is $523.97 and its two-hundred day moving average is $485.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.00, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a current ratio of 1.09. Northrop Grumman has a 1-year low of $418.60 and a 1-year high of $555.57.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The aerospace company reported $7.00 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.07 by $0.93. Northrop Grumman had a return on equity of 26.57% and a net margin of 5.79%. The company had revenue of $10 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $10.18 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $6.18 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts expect that Northrop Grumman will post 25.95 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Aviso Wealth Management increased its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 110.7% during the 2nd quarter. Aviso Wealth Management now owns 1,896 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $827,000 after purchasing an additional 996 shares in the last quarter. Susquehanna International Securities Ltd. acquired a new position in Northrop Grumman during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $1,133,000. AIA Group Ltd grew its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman by 20.0% during the 3rd quarter. AIA Group Ltd now owns 7,458 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $3,938,000 after acquiring an additional 1,242 shares in the last quarter. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System raised its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman by 9.8% in the first quarter. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System now owns 160,328 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $74,027,000 after purchasing an additional 14,275 shares during the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its position in shares of Northrop Grumman by 133.9% in the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,248 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $980,000 after purchasing an additional 1,287 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.40% of the company’s stock.

Northrop Grumman Company Profile

Northrop Grumman Corporation operates as an aerospace and defense technology company in the United States, Asia/Pacific, Europe, and internationally. The company’s Aeronautics Systems segment designs, develops, manufactures, integrates, and sustains aircraft systems. This segment also offers unmanned autonomous aircraft systems, including high-altitude long-endurance strategic ISR systems and vertical take-off and landing tactical ISR systems; and strategic long-range strike aircraft, tactical fighter and air dominance aircraft, and airborne battle management and command and control systems.