Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) PT Raised to $518.00 at Wells Fargo & Company

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) had its target price boosted by research analysts at Wells Fargo & Company from $483.00 to $518.00 in a research report issued on Tuesday, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an “equal weight” rating on the aerospace company’s stock. Wells Fargo & Company‘s target price would indicate a potential upside of 6.60% from the stock’s current price.

Other research analysts have also recently issued reports about the stock. TheStreet cut shares of Northrop Grumman from a “b+” rating to a “c+” rating in a report on Thursday, January 25th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Northrop Grumman from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, April 26th. Robert W. Baird upped their price objective on Northrop Grumman from $475.00 to $505.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, April 26th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on Northrop Grumman from $450.00 to $475.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Friday, April 26th. Finally, Susquehanna upped their price target on Northrop Grumman from $540.00 to $560.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a report on Friday, April 26th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $509.38.

Northrop Grumman Stock Performance

Northrop Grumman stock opened at $485.94 on Tuesday. Northrop Grumman has a twelve month low of $414.56 and a twelve month high of $496.89. The company has a quick ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04. The company has a market capitalization of $71.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.98, a PEG ratio of 2.00 and a beta of 0.35. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $464.44 and its 200 day moving average is $465.89.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last released its earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The aerospace company reported $6.32 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.83 by $0.49. The firm had revenue of $10.13 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.77 billion. Northrop Grumman had a return on equity of 24.09% and a net margin of 5.38%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 8.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $5.50 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts predict that Northrop Grumman will post 24.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CAO Michael A. Hardesty sold 210 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $454.68, for a total value of $95,482.80. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 3,127 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,421,784.36. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, CAO Michael A. Hardesty sold 210 shares of Northrop Grumman stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $454.68, for a total transaction of $95,482.80. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 3,127 shares in the company, valued at $1,421,784.36. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CAO Michael A. Hardesty sold 955 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $450.37, for a total value of $430,103.35. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 4,137 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,863,180.69. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 3,149 shares of company stock worth $1,421,147. Company insiders own 0.22% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Northrop Grumman

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in NOC. London Co. of Virginia bought a new position in Northrop Grumman in the 3rd quarter worth $165,786,000. Invesco Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman by 74.7% in the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,174,556 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $517,028,000 after acquiring an additional 502,060 shares during the period. Raymond James Trust N.A. grew its position in shares of Northrop Grumman by 19.7% during the fourth quarter. Raymond James Trust N.A. now owns 16,515 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $7,731,000 after purchasing an additional 2,723 shares in the last quarter. Phraction Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Northrop Grumman during the third quarter valued at approximately $677,000. Finally, Cerity Partners LLC increased its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 2,801.7% in the 4th quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 330,499 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $154,720,000 after acquiring an additional 319,109 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.