Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) Announces Quarterly Earnings Results, Beats Expectations By $0.49 EPS

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) announced its quarterly earnings data 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. The firm had revenue of $10.13 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.77 billion. Northrop Grumman had a return on equity of 23.07% and a net margin of 5.23%. Northrop Grumman’s quarterly revenue was up 8.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $5.50 earnings per share. Northrop Grumman updated its FY 2024 guidance to 24.450-24.850 EPS.

Northrop Grumman Stock Performance

NOC stock traded down $5.34 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $482.72. 778,291 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 999,085. The company has a quick ratio of 1.05, a current ratio of 1.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93. Northrop Grumman has a 52 week low of $414.56 and a 52 week high of $496.89. The business has a 50-day moving average of $462.00 and a two-hundred day moving average of $465.71. The firm has a market capitalization of $71.54 billion, a PE ratio of 35.72, a P/E/G ratio of 1.91 and a beta of 0.35.

Northrop Grumman Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 13th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 26th were issued a dividend of $1.87 per share. This represents a $7.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.55%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 23rd. Northrop Grumman’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 55.49%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Northrop Grumman

In related news, CAO Michael A. Hardesty sold 955 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $450.37, for a total value of $430,103.35. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 4,137 shares in the company, valued at $1,863,180.69. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other Northrop Grumman news, CAO Michael A. Hardesty sold 955 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $450.37, for a total transaction of $430,103.35. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 4,137 shares in the company, valued at $1,863,180.69. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CAO Michael A. Hardesty sold 210 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $454.68, for a total transaction of $95,482.80. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 3,127 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,421,784.36. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 3,149 shares of company stock worth $1,421,147 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.22% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently weighed in on NOC. TheStreet lowered Northrop Grumman from a “b+” rating to a “c+” rating in a report on Thursday, January 25th. Robert W. Baird upped their target price on Northrop Grumman from $475.00 to $505.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday. Alembic Global Advisors raised Northrop Grumman from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $532.00 target price for the company in a report on Monday. StockNews.com lowered Northrop Grumman from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, January 29th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on Northrop Grumman from $450.00 to $475.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Friday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $503.00.

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.