Zacks Research Lifts Earnings Estimates for Northrop Grumman

Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC) – Stock analysts at Zacks Research upped their Q2 2026 earnings per share (EPS) estimates for Northrop Grumman in a report released on Friday, December 26th. Zacks Research analyst Team now expects that the aerospace company will post earnings of $6.84 per share for the quarter, up from their prior forecast of $6.75. 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 Q3 2026 earnings at $7.16 EPS, Q1 2027 earnings at $5.65 EPS and Q2 2027 earnings at $8.25 EPS.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 21st. The aerospace company reported $7.67 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $6.43 by $1.24. The business had revenue of $10.42 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.68 billion. Northrop Grumman had a net margin of 9.82% and a return on equity of 25.49%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $7.00 earnings per share. Northrop Grumman has set its FY 2025 guidance at 25.650-26.050 EPS.

A number of other brokerages have also weighed in on NOC. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Northrop Grumman from $575.00 to $640.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 22nd. Alembic Global Advisors upgraded Northrop Grumman from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $662.00 target price on the stock in a report on Monday, December 15th. Citigroup began coverage on Northrop Grumman in a research report on Thursday, December 11th. They set a “buy” rating and a $654.00 price target for the company. BNP Paribas upgraded shares of Northrop Grumman to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 18th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $714.00 price target on shares of Northrop Grumman in a research report on Tuesday, December 16th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have given a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Northrop Grumman has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $651.18.

Northrop Grumman Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:NOC opened at $574.51 on Monday. Northrop Grumman has a 52 week low of $426.24 and a 52 week high of $640.90. The company has a quick ratio of 0.98, a current ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $570.32 and a 200-day simple moving average of $567.26. The company has a market cap of $81.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.67, a P/E/G ratio of 4.97 and a beta of 0.05.

Institutional Trading of Northrop Grumman

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Coign Capital Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Northrop Grumman by 1.3% in the 2nd quarter. Coign Capital Advisors LLC now owns 1,294 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $647,000 after acquiring an additional 17 shares in the last quarter. Howard Financial Services LTD. lifted its stake in Northrop Grumman by 1.5% during the third quarter. Howard Financial Services LTD. now owns 1,127 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $687,000 after purchasing an additional 17 shares during the last quarter. West Wealth Group LLC lifted its stake in Northrop Grumman by 4.3% during the third quarter. West Wealth Group LLC now owns 412 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $251,000 after purchasing an additional 17 shares during the last quarter. King Luther Capital Management Corp boosted its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 1.5% in the second quarter. King Luther Capital Management Corp now owns 1,243 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $621,000 after purchasing an additional 18 shares during the period. Finally, Dakota Community Bank & Trust NA increased its stake in Northrop Grumman by 6.9% during the third quarter. Dakota Community Bank & Trust NA now owns 278 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $169,000 after purchasing an additional 18 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.40% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Northrop Grumman

In other Northrop Grumman news, Director Mark A. Welsh III sold 97 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $564.08, for a total value of $54,715.76. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 4,281 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,414,826.48. This represents a 2.22% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 0.23% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Northrop Grumman Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, December 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 1st were paid a dividend of $2.31 per share. This represents a $9.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.6%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 1st. Northrop Grumman’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 33.24%.

Northrop Grumman Company Profile

Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE: NOC) is a leading U.S.-based aerospace and defense company that designs, builds and sustains advanced systems, products and technologies for government and commercial customers. Formed through the combination of Northrop and Grumman businesses in the 1990s, the company’s portfolio spans manned and unmanned aircraft, space systems, missile defense, radar and sensor systems, and integrated command, control, communications, computers, intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (C4ISR) solutions.

The company’s work includes airframe and platform manufacturing, space hardware and satellite systems, advanced mission systems and cybersecurity services, as well as logistics, sustainment and modernization programs.