Zacks Research Has Negative Forecast for NOC Q2 Earnings

Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) – Equities research analysts at Zacks Research decreased their Q2 2025 earnings per share (EPS) estimates for shares of Northrop Grumman in a note issued to investors on Tuesday, May 13th. Zacks Research analyst A. Dutta now expects that the aerospace company will earn $6.70 per share for the quarter, down from their previous forecast of $7.07. The consensus estimate for Northrop Grumman’s current full-year earnings is $28.05 per share. Zacks Research also issued estimates for Northrop Grumman’s FY2025 earnings at $25.12 EPS, Q1 2026 earnings at $5.40 EPS, Q2 2026 earnings at $4.84 EPS, Q3 2026 earnings at $11.11 EPS, Q4 2026 earnings at $6.05 EPS and Q1 2027 earnings at $1.91 EPS.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, April 22nd. The aerospace company reported $6.06 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $6.33 by ($0.27). Northrop Grumman had a return on equity of 26.24% and a net margin of 10.17%. The firm had revenue of $9.47 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.07 billion.

A number of other research firms also recently weighed in on NOC. Wolfe Research raised Northrop Grumman from an “underperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on Northrop Grumman from $580.00 to $625.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. Citigroup upped their price target on Northrop Grumman from $587.00 to $591.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Argus raised Northrop Grumman to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Finally, UBS Group reduced their target price on shares of Northrop Grumman from $583.00 to $571.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $545.31.

Northrop Grumman Price Performance

NYSE:NOC opened at $469.92 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $67.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.58, a PEG ratio of 3.73 and a beta of 0.15. The company has a 50-day moving average of $496.97 and a 200-day moving average of $485.99. Northrop Grumman has a 52 week low of $418.60 and a 52 week high of $555.57. 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 Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 19th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 3rd were given a dividend of $2.06 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $8.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.75%. Northrop Grumman’s payout ratio is 32.52%.

Insider Activity

In other Northrop Grumman news, CEO Kathy J. Warden sold 3,750 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $475.65, for a total transaction of $1,783,687.50. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 212,852 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $101,243,053.80. The trade was a 1.73% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, VP Benjamin R. Davies sold 192 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $429.08, for a total transaction of $82,383.36. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 709 shares in the company, valued at approximately $304,217.72. The trade was a 21.31% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 4,505 shares of company stock valued at $2,127,632 over the last three months. 0.23% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Northrop Grumman

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Northrop Grumman by 4.6% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 13,266,301 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $6,792,479,000 after purchasing an additional 588,520 shares during the last quarter. Capital International Investors boosted its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 5.9% during the fourth quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 8,239,434 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $3,866,133,000 after buying an additional 461,307 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 23.4% during the first quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 5,139,333 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $2,631,390,000 after buying an additional 974,633 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Northrop Grumman by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,025,263 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $1,417,850,000 after buying an additional 21,903 shares during the period. Finally, FMR LLC increased its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman by 4.1% in the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 2,807,223 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $1,317,402,000 after acquiring an additional 109,308 shares during the last quarter. 83.40% of the stock is owned by 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.