Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) has received mixed reviews from analysts, with a “Hold” recommendation from the majority of the seventeen analysts covering the aerospace company. One analyst rated the stock with a sell rating, while six have issued a hold rating and six others have issued a buy rating on the company. Bloomberg Ratings reports that brokers who have covered the stock in the last year believe that it has an average 1-year price target of $504.33.
However, Northrop Grumman’s fourth-quarter earnings results for January 2023 showed solid performance, with $7.50 earnings per share (EPS), which beat consensus estimates by $0.93. The company had revenue of $10 billion for the quarter, up 16.3% compared to the same period in the previous year, beating analyst estimates of $9.64 billion.
The strong performance in Q4 2022 was reflected in recent purchases and sales by large investors in Northrop Grumman’s stock. King Luther Capital Management Corp lifted its holdings by 1.3%, Sheaff Brock Investment Advisors LLC raised their holdings by 2.7%, Zions Bancorporation N.A increased holdings by 1.1%, Hanson & Doremus Investment Management increased their position by 19.6%, and finally Alphastar Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings by 0.5%. All told these investments show that large investors maintain their interest in this well-performing company.
Northrop Grumman continues to receive praise among sector analysts due to its positioning within a growing aerospace industry given increasing global demand for military and commercial aircrafts, as well as space-related technologies such as satellites and spacecrafts used to explore earth’s orbit or provide telecommunications services to remote regions on earth.
Despite some reservations accompanying some recommendations from some brokerage firms concerning Northrop Grumman’s stock, the company’s position in the marketplace seems secure given their recent earnings performance and the continued interest of large investors. It is clear that as one of the leaders in this thriving, highly-innovative industry, Northrop Grumman has a bright and positive future ahead of it.
Investors React to Varying Analyst Opinions on Northrop Grumman Corporation
Northrop Grumman Corporation, the aerospace and defense technology company, has recently been the subject of coverage by various research firms. StockNews.com issued a “buy” rating for the company while Citigroup and Cowen downgraded Northrop Grumman to a “neutral” and “market perform” rating respectively. Despite these varying opinions, large investors have been active in trading shares of the stock.
King Luther Capital Management Corp increased its position in Northrop Grumman by 1.3% in the third quarter, while Sheaff Brock Investment Advisors LLC lifted their position by 2.7%. Zions Bancorporation N.A. also raised its stake in the company by 1.1% during the same period. The firm has a market capitalization of $72.10 billion with a PE ratio of 15.05.
Northrop Grumman’s payout ratio is currently 21.96%, highlighting its commitment to dividend payments to investors. In fact, in March 2023, they issued a quarterly dividend of $1.73 per share paid to investors on record as of February 27th.
In terms of insider trading activity, several significant trades were reported over the past few months with Vice President Sheila C.Cheston selling over two thousand shares at an average price of $467 per share while Chief Accounting Officer Michael A.Hardesty sold more than one thousand shares at around the same price.
Despite these changes and shifts in sentiment from analysts and investors alike, Northrop Grumman’s stock opened today at $474.18 and it boasts impressive current ratios which are sure to turn heads in financial circles everywhere.
As always, investing carries risk so it is important for investors to do their due diligence before jumping into any particular stock or asset class.”
