Northrop Grumman (NOC) Competitors

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) and Boeing (NYSE:BA) are both large-cap aerospace companies, but which is the superior stock? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their institutional ownership, dividends, analyst recommendations, valuation, media sentiment, risk, earnings and profitability.

Which has preferable valuation and earnings, NOC or BA?

Northrop Grumman has higher earnings, but lower revenue than Boeing. Boeing is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Northrop Grumman, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Company	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Northrop Grumman	$41.03B	2.02	$4.17B	$27.13	21.36
Boeing	$66.52B	2.59	-$11.82B	-$16.51	-13.77

Does the media refer more to NOC or BA?

In the previous week, Boeing had 35 more articles in the media than Northrop Grumman. MarketBeat recorded 65 mentions for Boeing and 30 mentions for Northrop Grumman. Northrop Grumman's average media sentiment score of 1.30 beat Boeing's score of 0.69 indicating that Northrop Grumman is being referred to more favorably in the media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
Northrop Grumman	23 Very Positive mention(s)	3 Positive mention(s)	4 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive
Boeing	33 Very Positive mention(s)	11 Positive mention(s)	13 Neutral mention(s)	7 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive

Is NOC or BA more profitable?

Northrop Grumman has a net margin of 9.74% compared to Boeing's net margin of -14.18%. Northrop Grumman's return on equity of 25.52% beat Boeing's return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Northrop Grumman	9.74%	25.52%	7.89%
Boeing	-14.18%	N/A	-7.78%

Do institutionals and insiders have more ownership in NOC or BA?

83.4% of Northrop Grumman shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 64.8% of Boeing shares are held by institutional investors. 0.2% of Northrop Grumman shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 0.1% of Boeing shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Which has more volatility and risk, NOC or BA?

Northrop Grumman has a beta of 0.13, indicating that its stock price is 87% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Boeing has a beta of 1.48, indicating that its stock price is 48% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Do analysts rate NOC or BA?

Northrop Grumman presently has a consensus price target of $588.85, indicating a potential upside of 1.62%. Boeing has a consensus price target of $230.77, indicating a potential upside of 1.48%. Given Northrop Grumman's higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe Northrop Grumman is more favorable than Boeing.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Northrop Grumman	0 Sell rating(s)	8 Hold rating(s)	8 Buy rating(s)	1 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.59
Boeing	2 Sell rating(s)	3 Hold rating(s)	18 Buy rating(s)	3 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.85

Summary

Northrop Grumman beats Boeing on 10 of the 17 factors compared between the two stocks.