Zacks Research Predicts Weaker Earnings for Northrop Grumman

Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC - Free Report) - Investment analysts at Zacks Research lowered their Q3 2025 EPS estimates for shares of Northrop Grumman in a research note issued on Tuesday, June 10th. Zacks Research analyst A. Dutta now anticipates that the aerospace company will post earnings per share of $7.63 for the quarter, down from their previous forecast of $7.66. 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 Q4 2025 earnings at $7.43 EPS, Q4 2026 earnings at $6.03 EPS and Q1 2027 earnings at $1.93 EPS.

Several other equities research analysts have also issued reports on the company. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price target on Northrop Grumman from $575.00 to $550.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Argus raised shares of Northrop Grumman to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Truist Financial cut their target price on shares of Northrop Grumman from $600.00 to $550.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of Northrop Grumman from $580.00 to $625.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Northrop Grumman from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Nine 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 MarketBeat, Northrop Grumman presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $545.31.

Northrop Grumman Stock Performance

NYSE:NOC traded up $20.09 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $517.22. 1,842,813 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 886,029. The stock has a market capitalization of $74.44 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.25, a P/E/G ratio of 3.73 and a beta of 0.14. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $490.46 and a 200-day simple moving average of $482.42. 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 has a 52 week low of $418.60 and a 52 week high of $555.57.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 22nd. The aerospace company reported $6.06 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $6.33 by ($0.27). The company had revenue of $9.47 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.07 billion. Northrop Grumman had a return on equity of 26.24% and a net margin of 10.17%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Northrop Grumman

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Schroder Investment Management Group boosted its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 12.8% during the fourth quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 8,857 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $4,132,000 after buying an additional 1,008 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,025,263 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $1,417,850,000 after acquiring an additional 21,903 shares in the last quarter. RFG Bristol Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Northrop Grumman during the 4th quarter worth $284,000. Teacher Retirement System of Texas grew its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman by 74.4% in the 4th quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 156,149 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $73,279,000 after acquiring an additional 66,638 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bay Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Northrop Grumman during the fourth quarter worth $363,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.40% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Northrop Grumman news, VP Roshan S. Roeder sold 991 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $490.00, for a total transaction of $485,590.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 319 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $156,310. This trade represents a 75.65% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Kathy J. Warden sold 3,750 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $495.00, for a total value of $1,856,250.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 209,102 shares in the company, valued at $103,505,490. This represents a 1.76% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 12,340 shares of company stock valued at $6,183,378 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.23% of the company's stock.

Northrop Grumman Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 18th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 2nd will be issued a $2.31 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 2nd. This is a boost from Northrop Grumman's previous quarterly dividend of $2.06. This represents a $9.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.79%. Northrop Grumman's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 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.