Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) – Investment analysts at Jefferies Financial Group decreased their FY2020 earnings per share (EPS) estimates for shares of Northrop Grumman in a research report issued on Tuesday, January 7th. Jefferies Financial Group analyst S. Kahyaoglu now anticipates that the aerospace company will post earnings of $22.40 per share for the year, down from their prior forecast of $23.00. Jefferies Financial Group also issued estimates for Northrop Grumman’s FY2021 earnings at $25.50 EPS.
Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The aerospace company reported $5.49 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the Thomson Reuters’ consensus estimate of $4.74 by $0.75. Northrop Grumman had a net margin of 9.05% and a return on equity of 39.12%. The company had revenue of $8.48 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.56 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $6.54 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 4.8% compared to the same quarter last year.
Other analysts also recently issued research reports about the company. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on Northrop Grumman from $437.00 to $449.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Barclays set a $415.00 price objective on Northrop Grumman and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. Zacks Investment Research upgraded Northrop Grumman from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $367.00 price objective for the company in a report on Monday, December 30th. ValuEngine raised Northrop Grumman from a “strong sell” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. Finally, TheStreet lowered Northrop Grumman from a “b-” rating to a “c+” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 24th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company. The stock has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $365.25.
Shares of NYSE NOC opened at $374.39 on Friday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $351.17 and a 200 day moving average price of $352.40. The firm has a market cap of $62.75 billion, a PE ratio of 17.55, a PEG ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 0.76. The company has a current ratio of 1.29, a quick ratio of 1.19 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.55. Northrop Grumman has a 1-year low of $252.44 and a 1-year high of $383.89.
The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, December 18th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 2nd were paid a $1.32 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 29th. This represents a $5.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.41%. Northrop Grumman’s payout ratio is currently 24.75%.
A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Boston Trust Walden Corp increased its stake in Northrop Grumman by 2.6% in the 4th quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp now owns 1,553 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $534,000 after buying an additional 40 shares during the last quarter. Douglass Winthrop Advisors LLC increased its stake in Northrop Grumman by 2.2% in the 4th quarter. Douglass Winthrop Advisors LLC now owns 3,096 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $1,065,000 after buying an additional 68 shares during the last quarter. Advisors Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Northrop Grumman by 4.2% in the 4th quarter. Advisors Capital Management LLC now owns 49,540 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $17,040,000 after buying an additional 1,986 shares during the last quarter. Farmers & Merchants Trust Co of Chambersburg PA increased its stake in Northrop Grumman by 13.8% in the 4th quarter. Farmers & Merchants Trust Co of Chambersburg PA now owns 1,978 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $680,000 after buying an additional 240 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Abner Herrman & Brock LLC increased its stake in Northrop Grumman by 109.4% in the 4th quarter. Abner Herrman & Brock LLC now owns 19,645 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $6,757,000 after buying an additional 10,262 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.77% of the company’s stock.
About Northrop Grumman
Northrop Grumman Corporation, a security company, provides products in the areas of autonomous systems, cyber, space, strikes, and logistics and modernizations in the United States, the Asia Pacific, and internationally. The company operates through four segments: Aerospace Systems, Innovation Systems, Mission Systems, and Technology Services.