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Northrop Grumman (NOC) Gains As Market Dips: What You Should Know

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Northrop Grumman (NOC - Free Report) closed at $459.87 in the latest trading session, marking a +0.18% move from the prior day. The stock outpaced the S&P 500's daily loss of 1.45%. At the same time, the Dow lost 1.07%, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq lost 3.06%.

Prior to today's trading, shares of the defense contractor had gained 1.14% over the past month. This has outpaced the Aerospace sector's loss of 1.28% and the S&P 500's loss of 3.83% in that time.

Northrop Grumman will be looking to display strength as it nears its next earnings release. The company is expected to report EPS of $5.21, down 14.59% from the prior-year quarter. Meanwhile, our latest consensus estimate is calling for revenue of $9.19 billion, up 4.48% from the prior-year quarter.

Looking at the full year, our Zacks Consensus Estimates suggest analysts are expecting earnings of $21.89 per share and revenue of $38.28 billion. These totals would mark changes of -14.29% and +4.57%, respectively, from last year.

Any recent changes to analyst estimates for Northrop Grumman should also be noted by investors. These revisions help to show the ever-changing nature of near-term business trends. With this in mind, we can consider positive estimate revisions a sign of optimism about the company's business outlook.

Our research shows that these estimate changes are directly correlated with near-term stock prices. Investors can capitalize on this by using the Zacks Rank. This model considers these estimate changes and provides a simple, actionable rating system.

The Zacks Rank system, which ranges from #1 (Strong Buy) to #5 (Strong Sell), has an impressive outside-audited track record of outperformance, with #1 stocks generating an average annual return of +25% since 1988. Over the past month, the Zacks Consensus EPS estimate has moved 0.03% lower. Northrop Grumman is holding a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold) right now.

Investors should also note Northrop Grumman's current valuation metrics, including its Forward P/E ratio of 20.97. This valuation marks a premium compared to its industry's average Forward P/E of 17.73.

We can also see that NOC currently has a PEG ratio of 6.08. The PEG ratio is similar to the widely-used P/E ratio, but this metric also takes the company's expected earnings growth rate into account. The Aerospace - Defense industry currently had an average PEG ratio of 1.89 as of yesterday's close.

The Aerospace - Defense industry is part of the Aerospace sector. This industry currently has a Zacks Industry Rank of 110, which puts it in the top 44% of all 250+ industries.

The Zacks Industry Rank gauges the strength of our industry groups by measuring the average Zacks Rank of the individual stocks within the groups. Our research shows that the top 50% rated industries outperform the bottom half by a factor of 2 to 1.

Be sure to follow all of these stock-moving metrics, and many more, on Zacks.com.


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