Northrop Grumman (NOC) Competitors

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

Do institutionals and insiders believe in BA or NOC?

64.8% of Boeing shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 83.4% of Northrop Grumman shares are owned by institutional investors. 0.1% of Boeing shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 0.2% of Northrop Grumman shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Is BA or NOC more profitable?

Northrop Grumman has a net margin of 9.19% compared to Boeing's net margin of -16.58%. Northrop Grumman's return on equity of 25.46% beat Boeing's return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Boeing	-16.58%	N/A	-8.57%
Northrop Grumman	9.19%	25.46%	7.79%

Which has more volatility and risk, BA or NOC?

Boeing has a beta of 1.41, meaning that its share price is 41% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Northrop Grumman has a beta of 0.15, meaning that its share price is 85% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Does the media favor BA or NOC?

In the previous week, Boeing had 63 more articles in the media than Northrop Grumman. MarketBeat recorded 93 mentions for Boeing and 30 mentions for Northrop Grumman. Northrop Grumman's average media sentiment score of 1.23 beat Boeing's score of 0.86 indicating that Northrop Grumman is being referred to more favorably in the news media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
Boeing	51 Very Positive mention(s)	15 Positive mention(s)	15 Neutral mention(s)	7 Negative mention(s)	5 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive
Northrop Grumman	24 Very Positive mention(s)	1 Positive mention(s)	3 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive

Do analysts prefer BA or NOC?

Boeing presently has a consensus target price of $215.77, indicating a potential downside of 1.27%. Northrop Grumman has a consensus target price of $550.00, indicating a potential upside of 8.96%. Given Northrop Grumman's higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe Northrop Grumman is more favorable than Boeing.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Boeing	3 Sell rating(s)	3 Hold rating(s)	17 Buy rating(s)	2 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.72
Northrop Grumman	0 Sell rating(s)	7 Hold rating(s)	7 Buy rating(s)	1 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.60

Which has better valuation and earnings, BA or NOC?

Northrop Grumman has lower revenue, but higher earnings 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
Boeing	$66.52B	2.48	-$11.82B	-$17.92	-12.20
Northrop Grumman	$41.03B	1.77	$4.17B	$25.34	19.92

Summary

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