Back to top

Image: Bigstock

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

Read MoreHide Full Article

In the latest trading session, Northrop Grumman (NOC - Free Report) closed at $322.16, marking a +0.32% move from the previous day. The stock outpaced the S&P 500's daily loss of 0.62%. Elsewhere, the Dow lost 0.25%, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq lost 0.74%.

Coming into today, shares of the defense contractor had lost 0.83% in the past month. In that same time, the Aerospace sector gained 0.28%, while the S&P 500 gained 2.8%.

Wall Street will be looking for positivity from NOC as it approaches its next earnings report date. This is expected to be July 24, 2019. On that day, NOC is projected to report earnings of $4.64 per share, which would represent year-over-year growth of 18.07%. Our most recent consensus estimate is calling for quarterly revenue of $8.40 billion, up 18% from the year-ago period.

For the full year, our Zacks Consensus Estimates are projecting earnings of $19.41 per share and revenue of $33.91 billion, which would represent changes of -9% and +12.66%, respectively, from the prior year.

Investors should also note any recent changes to analyst estimates for NOC. These recent revisions tend to reflect the evolving nature of short-term business trends. As a result, we can interpret positive estimate revisions as a good sign for the company's business outlook.

Based on our research, we believe these estimate revisions are directly related to near-team stock moves. 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 ranges from #1 (Strong Buy) to #5 (Strong Sell). It has a remarkable, outside-audited track record of success, with #1 stocks delivering an average annual return of +25% since 1988. Over the past month, the Zacks Consensus EPS estimate remained stagnant. NOC is holding a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy) right now.

Valuation is also important, so investors should note that NOC has a Forward P/E ratio of 16.55 right now. This represents a no noticeable deviation compared to its industry's average Forward P/E of 16.55.

It is also worth noting that NOC currently has a PEG ratio of 1.29. This popular metric is similar to the widely-known P/E ratio, with the difference being that the PEG ratio also takes into account the company's expected earnings growth rate. Aerospace - Defense stocks are, on average, holding a PEG ratio of 2.05 based on yesterday's closing prices.

The Aerospace - Defense industry is part of the Aerospace sector. This group has a Zacks Industry Rank of 68, putting it in the top 27% 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.


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