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Northrop Grumman (NOC) Stock Forecast & Price Target

Northrop Grumman logo
$519.98 +20.35 (+4.07%)
Closing price 10/16/2026 03:59 PM Eastern
Extended Trading
$515.62 -4.35 (-0.84%)
As of 10/16/2026 07:58 PM Eastern
Extended trading is trading that happens on electronic markets outside of regular trading hours. This is a fair market value extended hours price provided by Massive. Learn more.

Northrop Grumman - Analysts' Recommendations and Stock Price Forecast (2026)

Consensus Rating

Sell
1
Hold
9
Buy
15

Based on 25 Wall Street analysts who have issued ratings for Northrop Grumman in the last 12 months, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy." Out of the 25 analysts, 1 has given a sell rating, 9 have given a hold rating, 14 have given a buy rating, and 1 has given a strong buy rating for NOC.

Consensus Price Target

$641.91
23.45% Upside
According to the 25 analysts' twelve-month price targets for Northrop Grumman, the average price target is $641.91. The highest price target for NOC is $815.00, while the lowest price target for NOC is $419.00. The average price target represents a forecasted upside of 23.45% from the current price of $519.98.
MarketBeat calculates consensus analyst ratings for stocks using the most recent rating from each Wall Street analyst that has rated a stock within the last twelve months. Each analyst's rating is normalized to a standardized rating score of 1 (sell), 2 (hold), 3 (buy) or 4 (strong buy). Analyst consensus ratings scores are calculated using the mean average of the number of normalized sell, hold, buy and strong buy ratings from Wall Street analysts. Each stock's consensus analyst rating is derived from its calculated consensus ratings score (0 to .5 = Strong Sell, .5 to 1 = Sell, 1 to 1.5 = Reduce, 1.5 to 2.5 = Hold, 2.5 to 3.0 = Moderate Buy, 3.0 to 3.5 = Buy, >3.5 = Strong Buy). MarketBeat's consensus price targets are a mean average of the most recent available price targets set by each analyst that has set a price target for the stock in the last twelve months. MarketBeat's consensus ratings and consensus price targets may differ from those calculated by other firms due to differences in methodology and available data.
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NOC Analyst Ratings Over Time

TypeCurrent Forecast
10/18/25 to 10/18/26
1 Month Ago
9/18/25 to 9/18/26
3 Months Ago
7/20/25 to 7/20/26
1 Year Ago
10/18/24 to 10/18/25
Strong Buy
1 Strong Buy rating(s)
2 Strong Buy rating(s)
1 Strong Buy rating(s)
1 Strong Buy rating(s)
Buy
14 Buy rating(s)
12 Buy rating(s)
12 Buy rating(s)
10 Buy rating(s)
Hold
9 Hold rating(s)
9 Hold rating(s)
10 Hold rating(s)
6 Hold rating(s)
Sell
1 Sell rating(s)
0 Sell rating(s)
0 Sell rating(s)
0 Sell rating(s)
Consensus Price Target$641.91$665.81$677.00$613.15
Forecasted Upside23.45% Upside26.39% Upside28.96% Upside3.20% Upside
Consensus RatingModerate BuyModerate BuyModerate BuyModerate Buy

NOC Analyst Recommendations By Month

The chart below shows how a company's ratings by analysts have changed over time. Each bar represents the previous year of ratings for that month. Within each bar, the sell ratings are shown in red, the hold ratings are shown in yellow, the buy ratings are shown in green, and the strong buy ratings are shown in dark green.
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NOC Price Targets by Month

The chart below shows how a company's share price and consensus price target have changed over time. The dark blue line represents the company's actual price. The lighter blue line represents the stock's consensus price target. The even lighter blue range in the background of the two lines represents the low price target and the high price target for each stock.
Skip Chart and View Analyst Price Target HistorySkip Chart & View Price History Table

Northrop Grumman Stock vs. The Competition

TypeNorthrop GrummanIndustrials CompaniesBroader Market
Consensus Rating Score
2.60
2.31
2.53
Consensus RatingModerate BuyHoldModerate Buy
Predicted Upside23.45% Upside136.62% Upside18.02% Upside
News Sentiment Rating
Neutral News

See Recent NOC News
Positive News
Positive News
Report Date
0 Results
DateBrokerageAnalystActionRatingPrice TargetReport Date
Upside/Downside
Details
10/14/2026Lower TargetMarket Perform$620.00 ➝ $556.00+15.60%
10/9/2026
TD Cowen logo
TD Cowen
3 of 5 stars
Gautam Khanna
Gautam Khanna
Not Rated
Lower TargetHold$590.00 ➝ $540.00+11.70%
10/8/2026
Barclays PLC logo
Barclays
3 of 5 stars
Initiated CoverageEqual Weight ➝ Underweight$419.00-13.42%
10/8/2026 UpgradeHold (C) ➝ Hold (C+)
10/6/2026Initiated CoverageBuy$680.00+42.79%
10/6/2026 Lower TargetOutperform$640.00 ➝ $540.00+12.28%
10/2/2026DowngradeOutperform ➝ Sector Perform$640.00 ➝ $525.00+8.90%
9/14/2026Initiated CoverageBuy$612.00+15.93%
9/8/2026Boost TargetBuy$685.00 ➝ $704.00+36.99%
8/13/2026Boost TargetBuy$617.00 ➝ $667.00+15.61%
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7/27/2026Boost TargetNeutral$533.00 ➝ $538.00+11.86%
7/23/2026Lower TargetNeutral$635.00 ➝ $600.00+13.21%
7/22/2026 Set TargetBuy$645.00 ➝ $615.00+16.27%
7/22/2026Lower TargetPositive$785.00 ➝ $655.00+23.72%
7/22/2026 Set Target$700.00 ➝ $500.00-1.74%
7/15/2026Set TargetOverweight$765.00 ➝ $745.00+41.00%
7/8/2026Reiterated RatingOverweight$800.00 ➝ $620.00+12.99%
6/26/2026Lower TargetHold$620.00 ➝ $580.00+15.08%
6/15/2026 Reiterated RatingOutperform
4/22/2026Reiterated RatingBuy$815.00+33.30%
2/10/2026 Set TargetBuy$625.00 ➝ $785.00+14.17%
1/28/2026Boost TargetBuy$685.00 ➝ $750.00+10.50%
1/27/2026Reiterated RatingHold$688.00+1.36%
1/9/2026Reiterated RatingBuy ➝ Hold$688.00 ➝ $623.00+5.40%
12/15/2025UpgradeNeutral ➝ Overweight$662.00+16.08%
2/3/2025UpgradeUnderperform ➝ Peer Perform

Analyst ratings data on MarketBeat is provided by Benzinga and other data providers. This page was last refreshed on Sunday at 03:49 PM ET.


Should I Buy Northrop Grumman Stock? NOC Pros and Cons Explained

These pros and cons were generated based on recent news and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate insights. They were last updated on Friday, October 16, 2026. Please send any questions or comments about these Northrop Grumman pros and cons to contact@marketbeat.com.

Northrop Grumman
Bull Case

green Wall Street bull icon

Here are some ways that investors could benefit from investing in Northrop Grumman Co.:

  • Northrop Grumman Co. was recently selected to build a new variant of the U.S. Army’s Integrated Battle Command System, a development that reinforces its position in missile-defense and command-and-control programs and includes a disclosed $21 million Army contract related to missile-defense command.
  • The company demonstrated strong financial performance in its most recent quarterly report on July 21, 2026, where it reported earnings per share of $7.68, significantly topping the consensus estimate of $6.82, while also achieving revenue of $10.88 billion, which exceeded analyst estimates of $10.80 billion.
  • With the current stock price at $519.98, Northrop Grumman Co. trades at a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.40, which is below the average target price of $641.91 set by Wall Street analysts who maintain a consensus rating of Moderate Buy.
  • Institutional investors continue to show confidence in the company, with ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc. increasing its holdings by 5.2% during the third quarter and State Street Corp lifting its stake by 1.3% in the second quarter, indicating that professional investors are accumulating shares.
  • Northrop Grumman Co. offers a dividend yield of 1.98%, providing income to shareholders, with a recent quarterly dividend of $2.47 per share paid on September 16, 2026, representing a payout ratio of 31.39% which leaves room for future growth.

Northrop Grumman
Bear Case

red Wall Street bear icon

Investors should be bearish about investing in Northrop Grumman Co. for these reasons:

  • Several major financial institutions have recently downgraded their outlooks, including Royal Bank of Canada downgrading the stock from "outperform" to "sector perform" and Barclays initiating coverage with an underweight rating, creating pressure on the stock’s near-term outlook.
  • The stock has experienced significant volatility and a decline from its 52-week high of $774.00 to its current price of $519.98, with a recent gap down of $21.61 on September 30, 2026, suggesting potential market concerns about the company's valuation or future performance.
  • Analysts have noted that program-execution risks and a flat Earnings ESP could prevent a beat in the upcoming Q3 earnings report, despite healthy demand and production trends, indicating uncertainty about the company's ability to consistently exceed expectations.
  • Insider selling activity has been observed, with CEO Kathy J Warden selling 20,000 shares at an average price of $708.82 in February 2026 and Director Mark A Welsh III selling 95 shares in August 2026, which may signal a lack of confidence from company insiders.
  • Northrop Grumman Co. has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.81, which, while not excessive, indicates a moderate level of leverage that could impact the company's financial flexibility in a changing economic environment.

NOC Forecast - Frequently Asked Questions

According to the research reports of 25 Wall Street equities research analysts, the average twelve-month stock price forecast for Northrop Grumman is $641.91, with a high forecast of $815.00 and a low forecast of $419.00.

25 Wall Street analysts have issued "buy," "hold," and "sell" ratings for Northrop Grumman in the last twelve months. There is currently 1 sell rating, 9 hold ratings, 14 buy ratings and 1 strong buy rating for the stock. The consensus among Wall Street analysts is that investors should "moderate buy" NOC shares.

According to analysts, Northrop Grumman's stock has a predicted upside of 23.45% based on their 12-month stock forecasts.

Over the previous 90 days, Northrop Grumman's stock had 4 upgrades and 3 downgrades by analysts.

Analysts like Northrop Grumman more than other "industrials" companies. The consensus rating for Northrop Grumman is Moderate Buy while the average consensus rating for "industrials" companies is Hold. Learn more on how NOC compares to other companies.


MarketBeat monitors more than a dozen sources for Northrop Grumman analyst ratings, with the most recent rating issued on 10/14/2026.
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