Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) Releases FY 2026 Earnings Guidance

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) updated its FY 2026 earnings guidance on Tuesday. The company provided earnings per share (EPS) guidance of 27.400-27.900 for the period, compared to the consensus estimate of 28.010. The company issued revenue guidance of $43.5 billion-$44.0 billion, compared to the consensus revenue estimate of $43.9 billion.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have commented on NOC. TD Cowen reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Northrop Grumman in a report on Wednesday, January 28th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on shares of Northrop Grumman from $690.00 to $710.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 9th. Morgan Stanley reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $765.00 target price on shares of Northrop Grumman in a research report on Wednesday, January 28th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $765.00 target price on shares of Northrop Grumman in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their target price on shares of Northrop Grumman from $715.00 to $750.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 28th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have issued a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $719.58.

Northrop Grumman Trading Down 1.4%

NOC opened at $655.88 on Tuesday. Northrop Grumman has a twelve month low of $450.13 and a twelve month high of $774.00. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $707.36 and a 200 day simple moving average of $639.25. The company has a quick ratio of 1.01, a current ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91. The stock has a market capitalization of $93.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.52, a P/E/G ratio of 4.71 and a beta of 0.04.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 21st. The aerospace company reported $6.14 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $6.03 by $0.11. Northrop Grumman had a net margin of 9.97% and a return on equity of 25.57%. The business had revenue of $9.88 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.75 billion. Northrop Grumman has set its FY 2026 guidance at 27.400-27.900 EPS. Analysts predict that Northrop Grumman will post 28.11 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Northrop Grumman Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 11th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 23rd were issued a dividend of $2.31 per share. This represents a $9.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.4%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 23rd. Northrop Grumman’s dividend payout ratio is presently 31.72%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Northrop Grumman news, CAO Michael A. Hardesty sold 147 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $732.98, for a total transaction of $107,748.06. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 2,525 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,850,774.50. This represents a 5.50% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Kathy J. Warden sold 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $708.82, for a total value of $14,176,400.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 171,602 shares in the company, valued at $121,634,929.64. The trade was a 10.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 22,431 shares of company stock valued at $15,924,404 over the last 90 days. 0.21% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Northrop Grumman

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman by 69.9% in the 4th quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,632 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $2,072,000 after purchasing an additional 1,494 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. lifted its stake in Northrop Grumman by 3.9% during the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,666,517 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $950,265,000 after acquiring an additional 62,817 shares in the last quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC lifted its stake in Northrop Grumman by 168.8% during the 4th quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 183,413 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $104,584,000 after acquiring an additional 115,170 shares in the last quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV increased its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 7.1% in the 4th quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 15,016 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $8,562,000 after acquiring an additional 996 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Andrews Advisory Associates LLC purchased a new stake in Northrop Grumman in the 4th quarter worth about $1,426,000. 83.40% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.