Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) Announces Earnings Results, Beats Estimates By $0.93 EPS

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday. The aerospace company reported $7.00 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $6.07 by $0.93, RTT News reports. The company had revenue of $10 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $10.18 billion. Northrop Grumman had a net margin of 5.61% and a return on equity of 25.44%. Northrop Grumman’s revenue was up 2.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $6.18 EPS. Northrop Grumman updated its FY 2024 guidance to 25.650-26.050 EPS and its FY24 guidance to $25.65-26.05 EPS.

Northrop Grumman Stock Performance

Shares of NOC stock traded down $4.33 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $519.35. 516,098 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 873,610. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $523.28 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $480.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a current ratio of 1.11. Northrop Grumman has a 12-month low of $418.60 and a 12-month high of $555.57. The stock has a market capitalization of $75.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.90, a P/E/G ratio of 2.38 and a beta of 0.34.

Northrop Grumman Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 18th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 3rd were given a $2.06 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, September 3rd. This represents a $8.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.59%. Northrop Grumman’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 53.79%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

NOC has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. TD Cowen raised Northrop Grumman to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on Northrop Grumman from $500.00 to $560.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, October 14th. Alembic Global Advisors cut Northrop Grumman from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $560.00 target price for the company. in a research note on Tuesday, August 27th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on Northrop Grumman from $500.00 to $540.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Friday. Finally, Citigroup increased their price target on Northrop Grumman from $521.00 to $587.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $547.44.

Insider Activity at Northrop Grumman

In other news, VP Thomas H. Jones sold 1,390 shares of the 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 completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 4,634 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,317,000. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders sold a total of 1,490 shares of company stock valued at $747,372 in the last three months. 0.22% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.