Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) Sets New 12-Month Low – Here’s Why

Shares of Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC) reached a new 52-week low during trading on Friday. The company traded as low as $470.06 and last traded at $476.4540, with a volume of 308156 shares. The stock had previously closed at $482.00.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on NOC. Weiss Ratings downgraded Northrop Grumman from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a report on Thursday, September 10th. Robert W. Baird set a $500.00 price objective on Northrop Grumman in a research note on Wednesday, July 22nd. Susquehanna cut their target price on Northrop Grumman from $785.00 to $655.00 and set a “positive” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 22nd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $615.00 price target on shares of Northrop Grumman in a research report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price objective on shares of Northrop Grumman from $620.00 to $580.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, June 26th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have issued a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $647.57.

Northrop Grumman Stock Down 1.0%

The company has a current ratio of 1.17, a quick ratio of 1.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.81. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $538.98 and its 200-day simple moving average is $568.95. The company has a market capitalization of $67.77 billion, a PE ratio of 15.14, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.83 and a beta of -0.11.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 21st. The aerospace company reported $7.68 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.82 by $0.86. Northrop Grumman had a net margin of 10.48% and a return on equity of 24.25%. The firm had revenue of $10.88 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.80 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $8.15 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 5.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Northrop Grumman has set its FY 2026 guidance at 28.600-29.100 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Northrop Grumman Corporation will post 28.97 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Northrop Grumman Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 16th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 31st were paid a dividend of $2.47 per share. This represents a $9.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 31st. Northrop Grumman’s dividend payout ratio is presently 31.39%.

Insider Transactions at Northrop Grumman

In related news, Director Mark Welsh, III sold 95 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $547.53, for a total value of $52,015.35. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 4,393 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,405,299.29. The trade was a 2.12% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Corporate insiders own 0.21% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new stake in Northrop Grumman during the 2nd quarter valued at about $6,001,616,000. Bank of America Corp DE purchased a new stake in shares of Northrop Grumman in the second quarter valued at approximately $1,298,141,000. Capital World Investors increased its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman by 39.4% in the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 3,434,041 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $1,958,151,000 after purchasing an additional 970,029 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp purchased a new position in Northrop Grumman during the second quarter worth approximately $376,135,000. Finally, Corient Private Wealth LP purchased a new position in Northrop Grumman during the second quarter worth approximately $44,039,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.40% of the company’s stock.

Northrop Grumman Company Profile

Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC) is a global aerospace and defense company that develops and produces systems for government and commercial customers, with the U.S. Department of Defense and other government agencies representing its primary markets. Its work spans advanced aircraft, autonomous systems, space systems, missile defense, command and control, cybersecurity, and other mission-critical technologies.

The company’s offerings include strategic and tactical aircraft, unmanned aerial vehicles, aircraft systems, satellites, spacecraft, launch vehicles, missile-warning and missile-defense systems, secure communications, and cyber and information systems.