Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) to Post Q4 2024 Earnings of $6.28 Per Share, Zacks Research Forecasts

Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) – Research analysts at Zacks Research boosted their Q4 2024 earnings per share (EPS) estimates for Northrop Grumman in a report issued on Tuesday, September 24th. Zacks Research analyst A. Dutta now anticipates that the aerospace company will post earnings per share of $6.28 for the quarter, up from their previous estimate of $6.27. The consensus estimate for Northrop Grumman’s current full-year earnings is $25.14 per share. Zacks Research also issued estimates for Northrop Grumman’s Q1 2025 earnings at $6.53 EPS, Q2 2025 earnings at $6.69 EPS, Q3 2025 earnings at $9.59 EPS and Q2 2026 earnings at $7.72 EPS.

NOC has been the topic of several other reports. Alembic Global Advisors downgraded Northrop Grumman from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $560.00 target price on the stock. in a report on Tuesday, August 27th. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on Northrop Grumman from $579.00 to $592.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 9th. BTIG Research assumed coverage on shares of Northrop Grumman in a report on Wednesday, June 26th. They set a “buy” rating and a $565.00 price objective for the company. Sanford C. Bernstein lowered shares of Northrop Grumman from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and set a $477.00 target price for the company. in a research note on Friday, June 21st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Northrop Grumman from $467.00 to $509.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, July 26th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $523.20.

Northrop Grumman Price Performance

NOC stock opened at $528.11 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a current ratio of 1.11. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $499.98 and a 200-day moving average price of $470.88. Northrop Grumman has a 52-week low of $414.56 and a 52-week high of $534.61. The firm has a market capitalization of $78.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.93, a PEG ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 0.34.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The aerospace company reported $6.36 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $5.93 by $0.43. Northrop Grumman had a net margin of 5.61% and a return on equity of 25.44%. The company had revenue of $10.22 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.02 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $5.34 EPS. Northrop Grumman’s quarterly revenue was up 6.7% compared to the same quarter last year.

Northrop Grumman Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 18th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 3rd were paid a $2.06 dividend. This represents a $8.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.56%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, September 3rd. Northrop Grumman’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 57.62%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, VP Thomas H. Jones sold 1,390 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $500.00, for a total value of $695,000.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 4,634 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,317,000. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other Northrop Grumman news, VP Thomas H. Jones sold 1,390 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $500.00, for a total value of $695,000.00. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 4,634 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,317,000. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, VP Thomas H. Jones sold 1,389 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $477.56, for a total value of $663,330.84. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 6,755 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,225,917.80. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 2,846 shares of company stock worth $1,393,028. 0.22% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Northrop Grumman

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Centaurus Financial Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman by 348.4% in the second quarter. Centaurus Financial Inc. now owns 1,825 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $796,000 after purchasing an additional 1,418 shares in the last quarter. Heritage Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Northrop Grumman in the 2nd quarter worth $409,000. Sanctuary Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Northrop Grumman in the 2nd quarter worth about $18,322,000. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL bought a new position in shares of Northrop Grumman in the 2nd quarter valued at about $92,000. Finally, New Century Financial Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman by 57.4% in the 2nd quarter. New Century Financial Group LLC now owns 867 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $378,000 after acquiring an additional 316 shares during the last quarter. 83.40% of the stock is 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.