Back to top

Image: Bigstock

Northrop Grumman (NOC) Stock Moves -0.23%: What You Should Know

Read MoreHide Full Article

Northrop Grumman (NOC - Free Report) closed the most recent trading day at $468.10, moving -0.23% from the previous trading session. This change was narrower than the S&P 500's 0.58% loss on the day. Meanwhile, the Dow lost 0.59%, and the Nasdaq, a tech-heavy index, lost 1.54%.

Heading into today, shares of the defense contractor had lost 0.22% over the past month, outpacing the Aerospace sector's loss of 0.85% and lagging the S&P 500's gain of 2% in that time.

Northrop Grumman will be looking to display strength as it nears its next earnings release, which is expected to be April 27, 2023. In that report, analysts expect Northrop Grumman to post earnings of $5.23 per share. This would mark a year-over-year decline of 14.26%. Meanwhile, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for revenue is projecting net sales of $9.19 billion, up 4.48% from the year-ago period.

NOC's full-year Zacks Consensus Estimates are calling for earnings of $22.04 per share and revenue of $38.28 billion. These results would represent year-over-year changes of -13.7% and +4.57%, respectively.

It is also important to note the recent changes to analyst estimates for Northrop Grumman. These recent revisions tend to reflect the evolving nature of short-term business trends. With this in mind, we can consider positive estimate revisions a sign of optimism about the company's business outlook.

Based on our research, we believe these estimate revisions are directly related to near-team stock moves. We developed the Zacks Rank to capitalize on this phenomenon. Our system takes these estimate changes into account and delivers a clear, actionable rating model.

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 0.69% higher. Northrop Grumman is currently a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).

Digging into valuation, Northrop Grumman currently has a Forward P/E ratio of 21.29. This valuation marks a premium compared to its industry's average Forward P/E of 18.24.

Meanwhile, NOC's PEG ratio is currently 6.17. This metric is used similarly to the famous P/E ratio, but the PEG ratio also takes into account the stock's expected earnings growth rate. The Aerospace - Defense was holding an average PEG ratio of 1.98 at yesterday's closing price.

The Aerospace - Defense industry is part of the Aerospace sector. This industry currently has a Zacks Industry Rank of 63, which puts it in the top 25% of all 250+ industries.

The Zacks Industry Rank includes is listed in order from best to worst in terms of the average Zacks Rank of the individual companies within each of these sectors. Our research shows that the top 50% rated industries outperform the bottom half by a factor of 2 to 1.

You can find more information on all of these metrics, and much more, on Zacks.com.


See More Zacks Research for These Tickers


Normally $25 each - click below to receive one report FREE:


Northrop Grumman Corporation (NOC) - free report >>

Published in