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Is Northrop Grumman (NOC) Outperforming Other Aerospace Stocks This Year?

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Investors interested in Aerospace stocks should always be looking to find the best-performing companies in the group. Northrop Grumman (NOC - Free Report) is a stock that can certainly grab the attention of many investors, but do its recent returns compare favorably to the sector as a whole? One simple way to answer this question is to take a look at the year-to-date performance of NOC and the rest of the Aerospace group's stocks.

Northrop Grumman is one of 33 companies in the Aerospace group. The Aerospace group currently sits at #2 within the Zacks Sector Rank. The Zacks Sector Rank gauges the strength of our 16 individual sector groups by measuring the average Zacks Rank of the individual stocks within the groups.

The Zacks Rank is a successful stock-picking model that emphasizes earnings estimates and estimate revisions. The system highlights a number of different stocks that could be poised to outperform the broader market over the next one to three months. NOC is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy).

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for NOC's full-year earnings has moved 1.21% higher within the past quarter. This means that analyst sentiment is stronger and the stock's earnings outlook is improving.

Based on the most recent data, NOC has returned 51.35% so far this year. In comparison, Aerospace companies have returned an average of 25.70%. This means that Northrop Grumman is performing better than its sector in terms of year-to-date returns.

To break things down more, NOC belongs to the Aerospace - Defense industry, a group that includes 11 individual companies and currently sits at #36 in the Zacks Industry Rank. On average, stocks in this group have gained 22.95% this year, meaning that NOC is performing better in terms of year-to-date returns.

Investors in the Aerospace sector will want to keep a close eye on NOC as it attempts to continue its solid performance.


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