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

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) updated its FY 2024 earnings guidance on Saturday. The company provided earnings per share (EPS) guidance of 24.900-25.300 for the period, compared to the consensus 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 Trading Up 0.2 %

Shares of NOC stock opened at $494.55 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $72.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.26 and a beta of 0.32. Northrop Grumman has a 1 year low of $414.56 and a 1 year high of $505.00. The company has a current ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $443.21 and a 200 day simple moving average of $455.62.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last released its earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The aerospace company reported $6.36 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.93 by $0.43. Northrop Grumman had a return on equity of 25.44% and a net margin of 5.61%. The firm had revenue of $10.22 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.02 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $5.34 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 6.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts predict that Northrop Grumman will post 25.18 earnings per share 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 issued a $2.06 dividend. This is a positive change 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 dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 57.62%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

NOC has been the topic of several analyst reports. Alembic Global Advisors upgraded shares of Northrop Grumman from a neutral rating to an overweight rating and set a $532.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 22nd. Sanford C. Bernstein downgraded Northrop Grumman from an outperform rating to a market perform rating and set a $477.00 target price on the stock. in a report on Friday, June 21st. Susquehanna boosted their price target on Northrop Grumman from $540.00 to $560.00 and gave the stock a positive rating in a report on Friday, April 26th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on Northrop Grumman from $475.00 to $500.00 and gave the company a sector perform rating in a research report on Friday, July 26th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group dropped their target price on shares of Northrop Grumman from $530.00 to $500.00 and set a hold rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, June 18th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Northrop Grumman currently has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $516.29.

Insider Activity

In related news, VP Thomas H. Jones sold 1,389 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, July 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $477.56, for a total value of $663,330.84. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 6,755 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,225,917.80. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 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.