Northrop Grumman (NOC) Projected to Post Earnings on Tuesday

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) is expected to issue its quarterly earnings data before the market opens on Tuesday, April 22nd. Analysts expect the company to announce earnings of $6.33 per share and revenue of $10.07 billion for the quarter. Northrop Grumman has set its FY 2025 guidance at 27.850-28.250 EPS.Parties that are interested in participating in the company’s conference call can do so using this link.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last released its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The aerospace company reported $6.39 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $6.27 by $0.12. Northrop Grumman had a return on equity of 26.24% and a net margin of 10.17%. On average, analysts expect Northrop Grumman to post $28 EPS for the current fiscal year and $29 EPS for the next fiscal year.

Northrop Grumman Price Performance

Northrop Grumman stock opened at $539.96 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $488.43 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $491.81. The stock has a market capitalization of $77.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.05, a PEG ratio of 3.73 and a beta of 0.20. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a current ratio of 1.01. Northrop Grumman has a 52-week low of $418.60 and a 52-week high of $555.57.

Northrop Grumman Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 19th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 3rd were issued a $2.06 dividend. This represents a $8.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.53%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 3rd. Northrop Grumman’s payout ratio is 29.08%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently commented on NOC shares. Susquehanna reduced 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. Citigroup upped their target price on Northrop Grumman from $587.00 to $591.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of Northrop Grumman from $580.00 to $625.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded shares of Northrop Grumman from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $424.00 to $521.00 in a report on Friday, April 11th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada raised Northrop Grumman from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $500.00 to $575.00 in a report on Thursday, March 27th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Northrop Grumman has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $548.88.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, VP Benjamin R. Davies sold 464 shares of Northrop Grumman stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $460.75, for a total value of $213,788.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 245 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $112,883.75. This trade represents a 65.44 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Kathy J. Warden sold 3,750 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $475.65, for a total transaction of $1,783,687.50. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 212,852 shares in the company, valued at approximately $101,243,053.80. This trade represents a 1.73 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 4,505 shares of company stock worth $2,127,182. Insiders own 0.23% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Northrop Grumman

An institutional investor recently raised its position in Northrop Grumman stock. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) by 176.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 2,970 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,895 shares during the quarter. Brighton Jones LLC’s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $1,394,000 as of its most recent SEC filing. 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.