Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) Announces Quarterly Earnings Results

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday. The aerospace company reported $6.32 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.83 by $0.49, Briefing.com reports. Northrop Grumman had a return on equity of 24.09% and a net margin of 5.38%. The company had revenue of $10.13 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.77 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $5.50 EPS. Northrop Grumman’s revenue was up 8.9% on a year-over-year basis. Northrop Grumman updated its FY 2024 guidance to 24.450-24.850 EPS.

Northrop Grumman Stock Down 1.5 %

Shares of NYSE:NOC opened at $480.53 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $71.21 billion, a PE ratio of 33.60, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.96 and a beta of 0.35. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $462.59 and a 200 day simple moving average of $465.77. The company has a current ratio of 1.13, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04. Northrop Grumman has a 12-month low of $414.56 and a 12-month high of $496.89.

Northrop Grumman Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 13th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 26th were paid a dividend of $1.87 per share. This represents a $7.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.56%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 23rd. Northrop Grumman’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 52.31%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently commented on NOC. Alembic Global Advisors upgraded Northrop Grumman from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $532.00 target price for the company in a research note on Monday, April 22nd. TheStreet lowered shares of Northrop Grumman from a “b+” rating to a “c+” rating in a report on Thursday, January 25th. Susquehanna boosted their target price on shares of Northrop Grumman from $540.00 to $560.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a report on Friday. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on shares of Northrop Grumman from $450.00 to $475.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Friday. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Northrop Grumman from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $503.00.

Insider Buying and Selling at Northrop Grumman

In other news, VP Kathryn G. Simpson sold 711 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $453.22, for a total value of $322,239.42. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 2,024 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $917,317.28. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, VP Kathryn G. Simpson sold 711 shares of Northrop Grumman stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $453.22, for a total value of $322,239.42. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 2,024 shares in the company, valued at $917,317.28. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CAO Michael A. Hardesty sold 210 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $454.68, for a total value of $95,482.80. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 3,127 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,421,784.36. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 3,149 shares of company stock worth $1,421,147 in the last ninety days. 0.22% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.