Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) to Post Q4 2024 Earnings of $6.28 Per Share, Zacks Research Forecasts

Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) – Stock analysts at Zacks Research increased their Q4 2024 earnings per share estimates for Northrop Grumman in a research note issued on Tuesday, September 24th. Zacks Research analyst A. Dutta now expects that the aerospace company will post earnings of $6.28 per share for the quarter, up from their prior estimate of $6.27. The consensus estimate for Northrop Grumman’s current full-year earnings is $25.14 per share. Zacks Research also issued estimates for Northrop Grumman’s Q1 2025 earnings at $6.53 EPS, Q2 2025 earnings at $6.69 EPS, Q3 2025 earnings at $9.59 EPS and Q2 2026 earnings at $7.72 EPS.

Several other analysts also recently weighed in on NOC. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price target on Northrop Grumman from $530.00 to $500.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, June 18th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of Northrop Grumman from $467.00 to $509.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, July 26th. Alembic Global Advisors lowered shares of Northrop Grumman from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $560.00 price target for the company. in a research report on Tuesday, August 27th. StockNews.com raised shares of Northrop Grumman from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, July 12th. Finally, TD Cowen increased their price objective on shares of Northrop Grumman from $440.00 to $515.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, July 29th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Northrop Grumman presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $523.20.

Northrop Grumman Price Performance

NYSE NOC opened at $526.72 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $77.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.83, a PEG ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 0.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03, a current ratio of 1.11 and a quick ratio of 0.99. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $503.43 and its 200 day moving average price is $471.65. Northrop Grumman has a 1 year low of $414.56 and a 1 year high of $534.61.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last released its earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The aerospace company reported $6.36 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.93 by $0.43. Northrop Grumman had a net margin of 5.61% and a return on equity of 25.44%. The company had revenue of $10.22 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $10.02 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $5.34 EPS. Northrop Grumman’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.7% on a year-over-year basis.

Northrop Grumman Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 18th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 3rd were issued a $2.06 dividend. This represents a $8.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.56%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, September 3rd. Northrop Grumman’s payout ratio is currently 57.62%.

Insider Activity

In other news, VP Thomas H. Jones sold 1,390 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $500.00, for a total transaction of $695,000.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 4,634 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,317,000. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In related news, VP Thomas H. Jones sold 1,390 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $500.00, for a total transaction of $695,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 4,634 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,317,000. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, VP Thomas H. Jones sold 1,389 shares of Northrop Grumman stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $477.56, for a total value of $663,330.84. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 6,755 shares in the company, valued at $3,225,917.80. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 2,846 shares of company stock worth $1,393,028 over the last three months. 0.22% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Ascent Group LLC boosted its position in Northrop Grumman by 0.5% during the second quarter. Ascent Group LLC now owns 4,337 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $1,891,000 after acquiring an additional 20 shares during the last quarter. Bogart Wealth LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman by 14.1% during the 1st quarter. Bogart Wealth LLC now owns 170 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $81,000 after purchasing an additional 21 shares during the last quarter. Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Northrop Grumman by 4.6% in the second quarter. Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 500 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $218,000 after purchasing an additional 22 shares in the last quarter. Oliver Lagore Vanvalin Investment Group increased its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman by 1.5% in the second quarter. Oliver Lagore Vanvalin Investment Group now owns 1,467 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $640,000 after purchasing an additional 22 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Legacy Wealth Asset Management LLC lifted its position in Northrop Grumman by 2.4% during the first quarter. Legacy Wealth Asset Management LLC now owns 965 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $462,000 after buying an additional 23 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.40% of the company’s stock.

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.