Zacks Research Analysts Increase Earnings Estimates for NOC

Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC) – Research analysts at Zacks Research raised their Q3 2025 earnings estimates for shares of Northrop Grumman in a note issued to investors on Monday, June 16th. Zacks Research analyst A. Dutta now anticipates that the aerospace company will earn $7.64 per share for the quarter, up from their prior estimate of $7.63. 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 FY2026 earnings at $27.41 EPS and FY2027 earnings at $29.60 EPS.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, April 22nd. The aerospace company reported $6.06 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.33 by ($0.27). The firm had revenue of $9.47 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.07 billion. Northrop Grumman had a return on equity of 25.46% and a net margin of 9.19%.

Other analysts also recently issued reports about the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded shares of Northrop Grumman from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $424.00 to $521.00 in a report on Friday, April 11th. Truist Financial decreased their price target on shares of Northrop Grumman from $600.00 to $550.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Royal Bank Of Canada cut their price objective on Northrop Grumman from $575.00 to $550.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Argus raised Northrop Grumman to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on Northrop Grumman from $580.00 to $625.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $548.33.

Northrop Grumman Price Performance

Shares of NYSE NOC opened at $494.16 on Thursday. Northrop Grumman has a twelve month low of $422.69 and a twelve month high of $555.57. The company has a current ratio of 0.95, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $490.53 and a two-hundred day moving average of $482.80. The company has a market capitalization of $71.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.50, a PEG ratio of 5.50 and a beta of 0.14.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Northrop Grumman

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in Northrop Grumman by 4.6% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 13,266,301 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $6,792,479,000 after purchasing an additional 588,520 shares in the last quarter. Capital International Investors raised its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman by 5.9% during the 4th quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 8,239,434 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $3,866,133,000 after purchasing an additional 461,307 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman by 23.4% during the 1st quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 5,139,333 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $2,631,390,000 after buying an additional 974,633 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,025,263 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $1,417,850,000 after buying an additional 21,903 shares in the last quarter. Finally, FMR LLC grew its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman by 4.1% in the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 2,807,223 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $1,317,402,000 after buying an additional 109,308 shares in the last quarter. 83.40% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Northrop Grumman

In related news, CEO Kathy J. Warden sold 7,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $505.77, for a total transaction of $3,793,275.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 201,602 shares in the company, valued at approximately $101,964,243.54. This trade represents a 3.59% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, VP Robert J. Fleming sold 3,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $505.77, for a total transaction of $1,770,195.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 1,827 shares in the company, valued at $924,041.79. The trade was a 65.70% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 16,569 shares of company stock valued at $8,322,279 in the last 90 days. 0.23% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Northrop Grumman Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 18th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 2nd were given a dividend of $2.31 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 2nd. This is a positive change from Northrop Grumman’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.06. This represents a $9.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.87%. Northrop Grumman’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 36.46%.

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.