Zacks Research Analysts Raise Earnings Estimates for NOC

Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC) – Analysts at Zacks Research raised their Q2 2026 earnings per share estimates for shares of Northrop Grumman in a research note issued on Friday, December 26th. Zacks Research analyst Team now anticipates that the aerospace company will earn $6.84 per share for the quarter, up from their previous estimate of $6.75. 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 Q3 2026 earnings at $7.16 EPS, Q1 2027 earnings at $5.65 EPS and Q2 2027 earnings at $8.25 EPS.

Several other research firms also recently weighed in on NOC. Sanford C. Bernstein set a $696.00 price target on shares of Northrop Grumman in a research report on Thursday, October 23rd. UBS Group upped their price objective on Northrop Grumman to $770.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 22nd. Citigroup initiated coverage on Northrop Grumman in a report on Thursday, December 11th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $654.00 target price on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $700.00 target price on Northrop Grumman and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, Morgan Stanley restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $714.00 price target on shares of Northrop Grumman in a research report on Tuesday, December 16th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Northrop Grumman presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $651.18.

Northrop Grumman Price Performance

Shares of NOC opened at $577.11 on Monday. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $571.29 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $566.28. The firm has a market cap of $82.37 billion, a PE ratio of 20.76, a P/E/G ratio of 4.97 and a beta of 0.05. The company has a current ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95. Northrop Grumman has a 1-year low of $426.24 and a 1-year high of $640.90.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 21st. The aerospace company reported $7.67 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $6.43 by $1.24. The firm had revenue of $10.42 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.68 billion. Northrop Grumman had a return on equity of 25.49% and a net margin of 9.82%.The company’s revenue was up 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $7.00 earnings per share. Northrop Grumman has set its FY 2025 guidance at 25.650-26.050 EPS.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Coign Capital Advisors LLC grew its stake in Northrop Grumman by 1.3% in the second quarter. Coign Capital Advisors LLC now owns 1,294 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $647,000 after purchasing an additional 17 shares during the last quarter. Howard Financial Services LTD. lifted its position in shares of Northrop Grumman by 1.5% during the third quarter. Howard Financial Services LTD. now owns 1,127 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $687,000 after buying an additional 17 shares during the last quarter. West Wealth Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman by 4.3% in the 3rd quarter. West Wealth Group LLC now owns 412 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $251,000 after buying an additional 17 shares in the last quarter. King Luther Capital Management Corp grew its position in shares of Northrop Grumman by 1.5% in the 2nd quarter. King Luther Capital Management Corp now owns 1,243 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $621,000 after buying an additional 18 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dakota Community Bank & Trust NA boosted its stake in Northrop Grumman by 6.9% in the third quarter. Dakota Community Bank & Trust NA now owns 278 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $169,000 after acquiring an additional 18 shares in the last quarter. 83.40% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Northrop Grumman

In related news, Director Mark A. Welsh III sold 97 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, November 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $564.08, for a total transaction of $54,715.76. Following the sale, the director owned 4,281 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,414,826.48. This represents a 2.22% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.23% of the company’s stock.

Northrop Grumman Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, December 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 1st were paid a $2.31 dividend. This represents a $9.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 1st. Northrop Grumman’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 33.24%.

Northrop Grumman Company Profile

Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE: NOC) is a leading U.S.-based aerospace and defense company that designs, builds and sustains advanced systems, products and technologies for government and commercial customers. Formed through the combination of Northrop and Grumman businesses in the 1990s, the company’s portfolio spans manned and unmanned aircraft, space systems, missile defense, radar and sensor systems, and integrated command, control, communications, computers, intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (C4ISR) solutions.

The company’s work includes airframe and platform manufacturing, space hardware and satellite systems, advanced mission systems and cybersecurity services, as well as logistics, sustainment and modernization programs.