Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) Announces Quarterly Earnings Results, Misses Expectations By $0.27 EPS

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday. The aerospace company reported $6.06 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $6.33 by ($0.27), Zacks reports. Northrop Grumman had a net margin of 10.17% and a return on equity of 26.24%. Northrop Grumman updated its FY 2025 guidance to 24.950-25.350 EPS.

Northrop Grumman Stock Down 1.8 %

Northrop Grumman stock opened at $530.83 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a current ratio of 1.01. Northrop Grumman has a one year low of $418.60 and a one year high of $555.57. The stock has a market cap of $76.51 billion, a PE ratio of 18.73, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.73 and a beta of 0.20. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $489.62 and a 200 day moving average of $491.45.

Northrop Grumman Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 19th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 3rd were issued a $2.06 dividend. This represents a $8.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.55%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 3rd. Northrop Grumman’s payout ratio is 29.08%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have commented on the stock. Argus upgraded shares of Northrop Grumman to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. Susquehanna lowered their target price on Northrop Grumman from $625.00 to $557.00 and set a “positive” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of Northrop Grumman from $587.00 to $591.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Morgan Stanley raised 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, Wolfe Research upgraded Northrop Grumman from an “underperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $548.88.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Kathy J. Warden sold 3,750 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $475.65, for a total value of $1,783,687.50. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 212,852 shares in the company, valued at $101,243,053.80. This trade represents a 1.73 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, VP Benjamin R. Davies sold 192 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $429.08, for a total transaction of $82,383.36. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 709 shares in the company, valued at approximately $304,217.72. This trade represents a 21.31 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 4,505 shares of company stock valued at $2,127,182. 0.23% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A hedge fund recently raised its stake in Northrop Grumman stock. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its position in shares of Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) by 176.3% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 2,970 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after buying an additional 1,895 shares during the period. Brighton Jones LLC’s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $1,394,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). 83.40% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.