Seaport Res Ptn Issues Pessimistic Estimate for NOC Earnings

Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) – Research analysts at Seaport Res Ptn dropped their Q1 2025 earnings per share (EPS) estimates for Northrop Grumman in a report issued on Thursday, April 17th. Seaport Res Ptn analyst R. Safran now anticipates that the aerospace company will post earnings of $6.27 per share for the quarter, down from their prior forecast of $6.42. The consensus estimate for Northrop Grumman’s current full-year earnings is $28.05 per share. Seaport Res Ptn also issued estimates for Northrop Grumman’s Q4 2025 earnings at $7.52 EPS, Q1 2026 earnings at $6.76 EPS, Q2 2026 earnings at $6.97 EPS, Q3 2026 earnings at $7.15 EPS and FY2026 earnings at $28.91 EPS.

Several other brokerages have also commented on NOC. Truist Financial raised their price target on shares of Northrop Grumman from $545.00 to $600.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday. Royal Bank of Canada raised Northrop Grumman from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their price target for the company from $500.00 to $575.00 in a report on Thursday, March 27th. UBS Group decreased their target price on shares of Northrop Grumman from $579.00 to $558.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 31st. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded shares of Northrop Grumman from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $424.00 to $521.00 in a report on Friday, April 11th. Finally, Barclays cut their target price on Northrop Grumman from $550.00 to $500.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Northrop Grumman currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $548.88.

Northrop Grumman Stock Up 0.5 %

NOC stock opened at $539.96 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $77.83 billion, a PE ratio of 19.05, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.73 and a beta of 0.20. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $488.43 and its 200 day simple moving average is $492.14. Northrop Grumman has a fifty-two week low of $418.60 and a fifty-two week high of $555.57. The company has a quick ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The aerospace company reported $6.39 EPS for the quarter, topping 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%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Northrop Grumman

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of NOC. Redhawk Wealth Advisors Inc. grew its stake in Northrop Grumman by 3.0% in the first quarter. Redhawk Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 644 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $330,000 after purchasing an additional 19 shares in the last quarter. Salvus Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 1.5% in the first quarter. Salvus Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,349 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $691,000 after buying an additional 20 shares during the last quarter. IAG Wealth Partners LLC raised its position in Northrop Grumman by 8.4% during the first quarter. IAG Wealth Partners LLC now owns 271 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $139,000 after acquiring an additional 21 shares in the last quarter. Sapient Capital LLC grew its position in Northrop Grumman by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. Sapient Capital LLC now owns 2,049 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $962,000 after acquiring an additional 22 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG increased its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman by 2.2% during the 4th quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG now owns 1,006 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $472,000 after purchasing an additional 22 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.40% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, VP Benjamin R. Davies sold 464 shares of the company’s 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 transaction, the vice president now owns 245 shares in the company, valued at $112,883.75. This represents a 65.44 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Kathy J. Warden sold 3,750 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 6th. The stock was 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 owns 212,852 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $101,243,053.80. This represents a 1.73 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 4,505 shares of company stock worth $2,127,182 over the last 90 days. 0.23% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Northrop Grumman Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 19th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 3rd were given a $2.06 dividend. This represents a $8.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.53%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 3rd. Northrop Grumman’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 29.08%.

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.