Zacks Research Issues Pessimistic Estimate for NOC Earnings

Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) – Zacks Research reduced their Q3 2025 earnings per share (EPS) estimates for shares of Northrop Grumman in a note issued to investors on Tuesday, December 3rd. Zacks Research analyst A. Dutta now anticipates that the aerospace company will post earnings of $6.99 per share for the quarter, down from their previous forecast of $7.33. The consensus estimate for Northrop Grumman’s current full-year earnings is $25.93 per share. Zacks Research also issued estimates for Northrop Grumman’s Q4 2025 earnings at $7.26 EPS, FY2025 earnings at $27.39 EPS and Q3 2026 earnings at $11.44 EPS.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 24th. The aerospace company reported $7.00 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $6.07 by $0.93. The firm had revenue of $10 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $10.18 billion. Northrop Grumman had a net margin of 5.79% and a return on equity of 26.57%. Northrop Grumman’s revenue was up 2.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $6.18 EPS.

NOC has been the subject of a number of other research reports. TD Cowen upgraded shares of Northrop Grumman to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of Northrop Grumman from $579.00 to $592.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 9th. Alembic Global Advisors downgraded shares of Northrop Grumman from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $560.00 price objective for the company. in a research note on Tuesday, August 27th. Citigroup increased their price objective on shares of Northrop Grumman from $521.00 to $587.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Northrop Grumman from $509.00 to $565.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, October 25th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $550.56.

Northrop Grumman Stock Performance

Shares of Northrop Grumman stock opened at $486.62 on Thursday. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $514.50 and a two-hundred day moving average of $487.65. The stock has a market capitalization of $70.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.15, a PEG ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 0.33. 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 1.00, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a current ratio of 1.09.

Northrop Grumman Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 18th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 2nd will be issued a dividend of $2.06 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 2nd. This represents a $8.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.69%. Northrop Grumman’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 51.05%.

Insider Transactions at Northrop Grumman

In other Northrop Grumman news, VP Benjamin R. Davies sold 1,156 shares of Northrop Grumman stock in a transaction on Monday, November 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $532.93, for a total value of $616,067.08. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 537 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $286,183.41. The trade was a 68.28 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 1,222 shares of company stock worth $650,575. Company insiders own 0.22% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Van ECK Associates Corp boosted its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 1,915.9% during the second quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 438,521 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $191,173,000 after purchasing an additional 416,768 shares during the last quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP boosted its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 102.6% during the third quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 735,600 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $388,448,000 after purchasing an additional 372,500 shares during the last quarter. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Northrop Grumman during the second quarter worth about $90,177,000. Marshall Wace LLP purchased a new position in Northrop Grumman during the second quarter worth about $74,206,000. Finally, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board boosted its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 113.6% during the second quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 296,844 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $129,409,000 after purchasing an additional 157,854 shares during the last quarter. 83.40% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Northrop Grumman Company Profile

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.