Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) Shares Up 7.2% Following Earnings Beat

Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC) shares shot up 7.2% on Tuesday following a better than expected earnings announcement. The company traded as high as $545.44 and last traded at $547.4890. Approximately 413,739 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 55% from the average session volume of 916,945 shares. The stock had previously closed at $510.65.

The aerospace company reported $7.89 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $7.18 by $0.71. Northrop Grumman had a net margin of 10.48% and a return on equity of 24.25%. The firm had revenue of $11.12 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $11.14 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $7.67 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 6.7% on a year-over-year basis.

Northrop Grumman Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 16th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 31st were paid a $2.47 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 31st. This represents a $9.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.8%. Northrop Grumman’s payout ratio is presently 31.39%.

Key Northrop Grumman News

Here are the key news stories impacting Northrop Grumman this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Northrop Grumman reported third-quarter adjusted earnings of $7.89 per share, above analyst expectations of roughly $7.18-$7.22. Revenue rose 6.7% year over year to $11.12 billion, broadly in line with estimates. Reuters article
• Positive Sentiment: The company raised its 2026 adjusted EPS outlook to $29.35-$29.75 and increased its segment operating-income guidance midpoint by $65 million, while maintaining sales guidance of $43.75-$44.25 billion. RTTNews article
• Positive Sentiment: Backlog reached a record $109.6 billion, supported by $16.4 billion in quarterly awards. The backlog strengthens visibility into future revenue and reinforces the benefit of sustained defense spending. Seeking Alpha article
• Positive Sentiment: Growth was broad-based: aeronautics sales increased 14%, defense sales rose 12%, and mission and space sales advanced 2%. Operating cash flow also increased 12% to $1.745 billion. Wall Street Journal article
• Neutral Sentiment: At approximately $510.87, NOC remained below its 50-day and 200-day moving averages of $523.85 and $551.28, respectively, suggesting that the earnings reaction had not fully reversed recent technical weakness.
• Negative Sentiment: A broader retreat in AI and technology stocks could limit gains in the defense contractor, even though NOC’s results were company-specific and fundamentally favorable. Market Retreats from AI Dead Cat Bounce article
• Negative Sentiment: Recent disclosed insider activity showed 21 sales and no purchases over six months, a modest sentiment concern, although the reported transactions were small relative to the company’s market value.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently weighed in on NOC. UBS Group increased their target price on Northrop Grumman from $685.00 to $704.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 8th. Susquehanna lowered their target price on Northrop Grumman from $785.00 to $655.00 and set a “positive” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Robert W. Baird set a $500.00 price target on Northrop Grumman in a research report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Royal Bank Of Canada downgraded Northrop Grumman from an “outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $640.00 to $525.00 in a research report on Friday, October 2nd. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein cut their price target on Northrop Grumman from $620.00 to $556.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 14th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have assigned a Buy rating, nine have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Northrop Grumman has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $641.91.

Insider Transactions at Northrop Grumman

In other Northrop Grumman news, Director Mark Welsh, III sold 95 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $547.53, for a total value of $52,015.35. Following the sale, the director directly owned 4,393 shares in the company, valued at $2,405,299.29. This trade represents a 2.12% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. 0.21% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. State Street Corp boosted its position in Northrop Grumman by 1.3% during the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 13,169,195 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $6,707,203,000 after purchasing an additional 168,267 shares during the last quarter. BlackRock Inc. bought a new position in Northrop Grumman in the second quarter valued at approximately $6,001,616,000. Bank of America Corp DE acquired a new position in shares of Northrop Grumman during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $1,298,141,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its position in shares of Northrop Grumman by 0.6% during the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 960,690 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $655,373,000 after purchasing an additional 5,811 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc raised its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman by 2.2% during the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 747,121 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $380,516,000 after purchasing an additional 16,195 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.40% of the company’s stock.

Northrop Grumman Trading Up 6.9%

The company has a market cap of $77.56 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.35, a PEG ratio of 3.05 and a beta of -0.11. The company has a current ratio of 1.17, a quick ratio of 1.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.81. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $523.85 and a 200-day moving average price of $551.28.

Northrop Grumman Company Profile

Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC) is a global aerospace and defense company that develops and produces systems for government and commercial customers, with the U.S. government representing its primary customer base. The company operates across aerospace, defense, space, cybersecurity and advanced technology markets.

Its products and services include military aircraft and autonomous systems, space systems and satellites, missile defense technologies, command-and-control systems, cyber solutions, sensors, communications networks and other mission-critical systems.