Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) Releases Quarterly Earnings Results, Beats Expectations By $0.43 EPS

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday. The aerospace company reported $6.36 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.93 by $0.43, Briefing.com reports. The firm had revenue of $10.22 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.02 billion. Northrop Grumman had a return on equity of 25.44% and a net margin of 5.61%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 6.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $5.34 EPS.

Northrop Grumman Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE NOC traded up $9.73 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $480.30. The stock had a trading volume of 1,164,624 shares, compared to its average volume of 785,878. The firm has a market cap of $71.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.59, a PEG ratio of 2.20 and a beta of 0.33. The company has a current ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03. Northrop Grumman has a fifty-two week low of $414.56 and a fifty-two week high of $496.89. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $441.47 and a 200-day moving average of $455.34.

Northrop Grumman Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 12th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 28th were given a dividend of $2.06 per share. This is a boost from Northrop Grumman’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.87. This represents a $8.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.72%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 24th. Northrop Grumman’s dividend payout ratio is currently 57.62%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

NOC has been the topic of several research analyst reports. StockNews.com upgraded Northrop Grumman from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, July 12th. BTIG Research initiated coverage on Northrop Grumman in a report on Wednesday, June 26th. They set a “buy” rating and a $565.00 price target on the stock. Robert W. Baird upped their price target on Northrop Grumman from $475.00 to $505.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, April 26th. Jefferies Financial Group cut their price target on Northrop Grumman from $530.00 to $500.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, June 18th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on Northrop Grumman from $475.00 to $500.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Friday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $515.07.

Northrop Grumman Company Profile

Northrop Grumman Corporation operates as an aerospace and defense technology company in the United States, Asia/Pacific, Europe, and internationally. The company's Aeronautics Systems segment designs, develops, manufactures, integrates, and sustains aircraft systems. This segment also offers unmanned autonomous aircraft systems, including high-altitude long-endurance strategic ISR systems and vertical take-off and landing tactical ISR systems; and strategic long-range strike aircraft, tactical fighter and air dominance aircraft, and airborne battle management and command and control systems.