Zacks Research Issues Pessimistic Forecast for NOC Earnings

Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) – Stock analysts at Zacks Research cut their Q1 2025 earnings per share estimates for Northrop Grumman in a report released on Thursday, February 20th. Zacks Research analyst A. Dutta now forecasts that the aerospace company will post earnings of $6.33 per share for the quarter, down from their prior estimate of $6.43. The consensus estimate for Northrop Grumman’s current full-year earnings is $28.05 per share. Zacks Research also issued estimates for Northrop Grumman’s Q2 2025 earnings at $7.07 EPS, Q3 2025 earnings at $7.15 EPS, Q4 2025 earnings at $7.34 EPS, FY2025 earnings at $27.89 EPS, Q2 2026 earnings at $6.28 EPS and FY2027 earnings at $30.97 EPS.

NOC has been the subject of several other reports. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on Northrop Grumman from $595.00 to $574.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Wolfe Research raised Northrop Grumman from an “underperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. UBS Group lowered their target price on Northrop Grumman from $579.00 to $558.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 31st. StockNews.com cut Northrop Grumman from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Susquehanna lowered their target price on Northrop Grumman from $625.00 to $557.00 and set a “positive” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Northrop Grumman currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $544.56.

Northrop Grumman Trading Up 2.5 %

Shares of NYSE NOC opened at $461.03 on Monday. Northrop Grumman has a twelve month low of $418.60 and a twelve month high of $555.57. The company has a current ratio of 1.01, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $469.99 and a 200-day simple moving average of $497.05. The stock has a market capitalization of $66.74 billion, a PE ratio of 16.27, a PEG ratio of 3.73 and a beta of 0.35.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The aerospace company reported $6.39 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.27 by $0.12. Northrop Grumman had a return on equity of 26.24% and a net margin of 10.17%.

Northrop Grumman Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 19th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 3rd will be issued a $2.06 dividend. This represents a $8.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.79%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 3rd. Northrop Grumman’s payout ratio is currently 29.08%.

Northrop Grumman announced that its board has approved a stock buyback plan on Wednesday, December 11th that authorizes the company to buyback $3.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the aerospace company to purchase up to 4.3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are often an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Activity

In other news, VP Benjamin R. Davies sold 192 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $429.08, for a total value of $82,383.36. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 709 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $304,217.72. The trade was a 21.31 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In the last three months, insiders sold 291 shares of company stock valued at $129,184. Insiders own 0.22% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Northrop Grumman

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in NOC. Capital International Investors lifted its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman by 5.9% in the 4th quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 8,239,434 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $3,866,133,000 after purchasing an additional 461,307 shares during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman by 28.5% in the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 2,030,644 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $952,962,000 after purchasing an additional 450,858 shares during the last quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP lifted its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman by 102.6% in the 3rd quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 735,600 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $388,448,000 after purchasing an additional 372,500 shares during the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP lifted its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman by 337.1% in the 4th quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 482,112 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $226,250,000 after purchasing an additional 371,814 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in Northrop Grumman during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $171,580,000. 83.40% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.