Brokers Set Expectations for Northrop Grumman Co.’s Q2 2023 Earnings (NYSE:NOC)

Posted by Defense World Staff on May 4th, 2023

Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC – Get Rating) – Equities researchers at Jefferies Financial Group decreased their Q2 2023 earnings per share (EPS) estimates for Northrop Grumman in a research note issued to investors on Sunday, April 30th. Jefferies Financial Group analyst S. Kahyaoglu now forecasts that the aerospace company will earn $5.23 per share for the quarter, down from their previous forecast of $5.30. The consensus estimate for Northrop Grumman’s current full-year earnings is $22.58 per share. Jefferies Financial Group also issued estimates for Northrop Grumman’s Q3 2023 earnings at $5.74 EPS, Q4 2023 earnings at $5.93 EPS and FY2023 earnings at $22.40 EPS.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC – Get Rating) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 27th. The aerospace company reported $5.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.16 by $0.34. Northrop Grumman had a net margin of 12.89% and a return on equity of 26.61%. The company had revenue of $9.30 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.19 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $6.10 earnings per share. Northrop Grumman’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.7% on a year-over-year basis.

Several other equities analysts also recently issued reports on NOC. Cowen downgraded shares of Northrop Grumman from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and decreased their price objective for the company from $500.00 to $478.00 in a research note on Friday, January 27th. Susquehanna decreased their price objective on shares of Northrop Grumman from $615.00 to $535.00 and set a “positive” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 27th. The Goldman Sachs Group downgraded shares of Northrop Grumman from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $440.00 to $375.00 in a research note on Friday, January 13th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Northrop Grumman from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, April 28th. Finally, Bank of America decreased their target price on shares of Northrop Grumman from $700.00 to $655.00 in a research note on Sunday, January 29th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $512.00.

Northrop Grumman Stock Performance

NYSE NOC opened at $443.71 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 1.22 and a quick ratio of 0.99. Northrop Grumman has a 1 year low of $430.93 and a 1 year high of $556.27. The company has a market capitalization of $67.47 billion, a PE ratio of 14.35, a P/E/G ratio of 5.88 and a beta of 0.51. The company has a fifty day moving average of $463.09 and a two-hundred day moving average of $489.58.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. EWG Elevate Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Northrop Grumman during the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Bbjs Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Northrop Grumman during the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Northrop Grumman during the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. Capital Directions Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Northrop Grumman during the 4th quarter worth approximately $30,000. Finally, Concord Wealth Partners purchased a new position in shares of Northrop Grumman during the 4th quarter worth approximately $32,000. 84.32% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Northrop Grumman

In related news, CAO Michael A. Hardesty sold 1,178 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $467.81, for a total value of $551,080.18. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 2,737 shares in the company, valued at $1,280,395.97. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other Northrop Grumman news, VP David T. Perry sold 3,999 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $469.65, for a total value of $1,878,130.35. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 8,717 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,093,939.05. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CAO Michael A. Hardesty sold 1,178 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $467.81, for a total transaction of $551,080.18. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 2,737 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,280,395.97. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 10,534 shares of company stock worth $4,934,622 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.26% of the company’s stock.

Northrop Grumman Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 15th. Investors of record on Monday, February 27th were given a $1.73 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 24th. This represents a $6.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.56%. Northrop Grumman’s payout ratio is currently 22.39%.

Northrop Grumman Company Profile

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Northrop Grumman Corp. engages in the provision of advanced aircraft systems. It operates through the following segments: Aeronautics Systems, Defense Systems, Mission Systems, and Space Systems. The Aeronautics Systems segment is involved in the design, development, production, integration, sustainment, and modernization of advanced aircraft systems for the U.S.