Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) Rating Increased to Strong-Buy at StockNews.com

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) was upgraded by investment analysts at StockNews.com from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday.

A number of other research analysts have also issued reports on NOC. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Northrop Grumman from $509.00 to $565.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. UBS Group lifted their target price on Northrop Grumman from $614.00 to $643.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised Northrop Grumman from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $474.00 to $575.00 in a research report on Monday, July 29th. Susquehanna boosted their price objective on Northrop Grumman from $560.00 to $625.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. Finally, Barclays raised their target price on Northrop Grumman from $500.00 to $550.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 29th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Northrop Grumman has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $550.56.

Northrop Grumman Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE NOC traded down $2.32 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $531.38. 650,221 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 861,636. Northrop Grumman has a 12 month low of $418.60 and a 12 month high of $555.57. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $523.97 and its 200 day moving average price is $485.43. The company has a quick ratio of 0.97, a current ratio of 1.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.00. The firm has a market capitalization of $77.42 billion, a PE ratio of 32.92, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.07 and a beta of 0.35.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 24th. The aerospace company reported $7.00 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 firm had revenue of $10 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.18 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $6.18 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 2.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts predict that Northrop Grumman will post 25.95 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Capital International Investors raised its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman by 5.6% during the first quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 11,747,646 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $5,623,128,000 after acquiring an additional 621,636 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 4.8% in the first quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 4,634,043 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $2,218,132,000 after buying an additional 211,459 shares during the period. Capital World Investors boosted its position in Northrop Grumman by 0.6% during the 1st quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 3,688,511 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $1,765,543,000 after acquiring an additional 23,398 shares in the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc grew its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman by 16.0% during the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 1,087,913 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $474,276,000 after acquiring an additional 150,367 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Northrop Grumman by 0.4% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 809,445 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $427,444,000 after acquiring an additional 3,211 shares in the last quarter. 83.40% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Northrop Grumman

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.