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

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) updated its FY 2024 earnings guidance on Thursday. The company provided earnings per share guidance of 24.450-24.850 for the period, compared to the consensus earnings per share estimate of 24.650. The company issued revenue guidance of $40.8 billion-$41.2 billion, compared to the consensus revenue estimate of $41.1 billion.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have issued reports on NOC. Alembic Global Advisors upgraded shares of Northrop Grumman from a neutral rating to an overweight rating and set a $532.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 22nd. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on shares of Northrop Grumman from $450.00 to $475.00 and gave the company a sector perform rating in a research report on Friday. Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective on shares of Northrop Grumman from $475.00 to $505.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a research report on Friday. TheStreet cut shares of Northrop Grumman from a b+ rating to a c+ rating in a research report on Thursday, January 25th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Northrop Grumman from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research report on Friday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Northrop Grumman presently has an average rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $503.00.

Northrop Grumman Stock Down 1.6 %

NYSE:NOC traded down $7.61 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $480.45. 1,371,947 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,120,454. Northrop Grumman has a one year low of $414.56 and a one year high of $496.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04, a current ratio of 1.13 and a quick ratio of 1.05. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $462.59 and a 200 day moving average price of $465.77. The company has a market cap of $71.20 billion, a PE ratio of 33.60, a P/E/G ratio of 1.96 and a beta of 0.35.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The aerospace company reported $6.32 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $5.83 by $0.49. The firm had revenue of $10.13 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.77 billion. Northrop Grumman had a net margin of 5.38% and a return on equity of 24.09%. The business’s revenue was up 8.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $5.50 earnings per share. Equities analysts predict that Northrop Grumman will post 24.67 EPS for the current year.

Northrop Grumman Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 13th. Investors of record on Monday, February 26th were given a dividend of $1.87 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 23rd. This represents a $7.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.56%. Northrop Grumman’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 52.31%.

Insider Activity at Northrop Grumman

In related news, CAO Michael A. Hardesty sold 955 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $450.37, for a total transaction of $430,103.35. Following 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 legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other Northrop Grumman news, VP Kathryn G. Simpson sold 711 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $453.22, for a total transaction of $322,239.42. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 2,024 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $917,317.28. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CAO Michael A. Hardesty sold 955 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $450.37, for a total transaction of $430,103.35. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 4,137 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,863,180.69. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 3,149 shares of company stock worth $1,421,147 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.22% of the company’s stock.

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.