Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) Updates FY 2024 Earnings Guidance

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) updated its FY 2024 earnings guidance on Saturday. The company provided earnings per share guidance of 24.900-25.300 for the period, compared to the consensus earnings per share estimate of 24.760. The company issued revenue guidance of $41.0 billion-$41.4 billion, compared to the consensus revenue estimate of $41.1 billion.

Northrop Grumman Stock Performance

NOC opened at $492.79 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $72.93 billion, a PE ratio of 34.46, a PEG ratio of 2.26 and a beta of 0.32. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $443.74 and its 200 day moving average price is $455.75. Northrop Grumman has a twelve month low of $414.56 and a twelve month high of $506.83. The company has a current ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The aerospace company reported $6.36 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.93 by $0.43. The firm had revenue of $10.22 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.02 billion. Northrop Grumman had a net margin of 5.61% and a return on equity of 25.44%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $5.34 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Northrop Grumman will post 25.18 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Northrop Grumman Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 12th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 28th were given a $2.06 dividend. This is an increase from Northrop Grumman’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.87. This represents a $8.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.67%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 24th. Northrop Grumman’s payout ratio is currently 57.62%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have commented on NOC shares. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price objective on shares of Northrop Grumman from $530.00 to $500.00 and set a hold rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, June 18th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Northrop Grumman from $467.00 to $509.00 and gave the stock an equal weight rating in a report on Friday, July 26th. TD Cowen increased their price objective on Northrop Grumman from $440.00 to $515.00 and gave the company a hold rating in a report on Monday, July 29th. Susquehanna raised their target price on Northrop Grumman from $540.00 to $560.00 and gave the stock a positive rating in a research report on Friday, April 26th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on Northrop Grumman from $475.00 to $500.00 and gave the company a sector perform rating in a report on Friday, July 26th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of Hold and an average target price of $516.29.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, VP Thomas H. Jones sold 1,390 shares of Northrop Grumman stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $500.00, for a total value of $695,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 4,634 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,317,000. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In other news, VP Thomas H. Jones sold 1,390 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the vice president now owns 4,634 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,317,000. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, VP Thomas H. Jones sold 1,389 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $477.56, for a total value of $663,330.84. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 6,755 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,225,917.80. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.22% of the company’s stock.

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.