Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) Stock Jumps 1.8% – Should You Buy?

Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC)’s stock price traded up 1.8% during trading on Tuesday. The company traded as high as $553.47 and last traded at $549.0090. Approximately 546,133 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 41% from the average session volume of 930,138 shares. The stock had previously closed at $539.07.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have commented on the stock. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Northrop Grumman from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Thursday, October 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of Northrop Grumman from $600.00 to $605.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, October 26th. Sanford C. Bernstein raised their price target on shares of Northrop Grumman from $556.00 to $590.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 27th. Susquehanna lowered their price objective on shares of Northrop Grumman from $785.00 to $655.00 and set a “positive” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Finally, TD Cowen dropped their price objective on shares of Northrop Grumman from $590.00 to $540.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 9th. Fifteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $643.74.

Northrop Grumman Price Performance

The business has a fifty day moving average of $519.23 and a 200-day moving average of $588.28. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a current ratio of 1.23. The firm has a market capitalization of $77.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.82 and a beta of -0.13.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 20th. The aerospace company reported $7.89 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $7.18 by $0.71. The company had revenue of $11.12 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $11.14 billion. Northrop Grumman had a return on equity of 23.46% and a net margin of 10.37%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $7.67 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Northrop Grumman Corporation will post 29.68 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Northrop Grumman Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Mark Welsh, III sold 98 shares of Northrop Grumman stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $555.65, for a total value of $54,453.70. Following the transaction, the director owned 4,314 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,397,074.10. The trade was a 2.22% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Company insiders own 0.21% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Northrop Grumman

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Bogart Wealth LLC lifted its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 7.4% during the 3rd quarter. Bogart Wealth LLC now owns 1,376 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $665,000 after buying an additional 95 shares in the last quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC boosted its position in Northrop Grumman by 13.4% in the 3rd quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 3,090 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $1,494,000 after buying an additional 365 shares during the last quarter. BCGM Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in Northrop Grumman by 4.2% in the 3rd quarter. BCGM Wealth Management LLC now owns 8,074 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $3,904,000 after buying an additional 324 shares during the last quarter. Rothschild Investment LLC increased its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman by 44.4% in the 3rd quarter. Rothschild Investment LLC now owns 2,720 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $1,315,000 after buying an additional 836 shares during the period. Finally, West Family Investments Inc. increased its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman by 42.0% in the 3rd quarter. West Family Investments Inc. now owns 1,806 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $873,000 after buying an additional 534 shares during the period. 83.40% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Northrop Grumman

Northrop Grumman Corporation is a U.S.-based aerospace and defense company that develops and produces systems for government and commercial customers. Its business spans aeronautics, defense, mission technologies and space, including military aircraft, autonomous systems, missile and air-defense capabilities, sensors, communications and satellites. The company is the prime contractor for the B-21 Raider and is developing the Sentinel intercontinental ballistic missile system. It also supplies technologies and components for other defense programs, as well as launch vehicles, propulsion systems and spacecraft.