Seaport Res Ptn Issues Positive Outlook for NOC Earnings

Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC) – Investment analysts at Seaport Res Ptn upped their Q3 2025 earnings estimates for Northrop Grumman in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday, July 16th. Seaport Res Ptn analyst R. Safran now forecasts that the aerospace company will earn $7.32 per share for the quarter, up from their previous forecast of $7.18. The consensus estimate for Northrop Grumman’s current full-year earnings is $28.05 per share.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 22nd. The aerospace company reported $6.06 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $6.33 by ($0.27). Northrop Grumman had a net margin of 9.19% and a return on equity of 25.46%. The company had revenue of $9.47 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.07 billion.

Several other brokerages also recently weighed in on NOC. UBS Group decreased their target price on shares of Northrop Grumman from $583.00 to $571.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reiterated a “hold” rating and set a $542.00 target price (down previously from $580.00) on shares of Northrop Grumman in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. Royal Bank Of Canada decreased their target price on shares of Northrop Grumman from $575.00 to $550.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Northrop Grumman from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group raised shares of Northrop Grumman from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $424.00 to $521.00 in a report on Friday, April 11th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $550.00.

Northrop Grumman Price Performance

Shares of NOC opened at $524.56 on Thursday. Northrop Grumman has a fifty-two week low of $426.24 and a fifty-two week high of $555.57. The company has a market capitalization of $75.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.70, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.17 and a beta of 0.15. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $491.91 and a 200-day simple moving average of $486.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a current ratio of 0.95.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. IMA Advisory Services Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Northrop Grumman during the 1st quarter worth approximately $27,000. Saudi Central Bank acquired a new position in shares of Northrop Grumman in the 1st quarter valued at $28,000. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise acquired a new position in shares of Northrop Grumman in the 1st quarter valued at $30,000. Wood Tarver Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Northrop Grumman in the 4th quarter valued at $32,000. Finally, Bellwether Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Northrop Grumman in the 4th quarter valued at $33,000. 83.40% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Northrop Grumman

In other news, CEO Kathy J. Warden sold 7,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $505.77, for a total transaction of $3,793,275.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 201,602 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $101,964,243.54. This trade represents a 3.59% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, VP Robert J. Fleming sold 3,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $505.77, for a total transaction of $1,770,195.00. Following the transaction, the vice president directly owned 1,827 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $924,041.79. This trade represents a 65.70% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 16,569 shares of company stock valued at $8,323,150. 0.23% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Northrop Grumman Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 18th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 2nd were issued a $2.31 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 2nd. This is a boost from Northrop Grumman’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.06. This represents a $9.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.76%. Northrop Grumman’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 36.46%.

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.