Northrop Grumman (NOC) Ascends While Market Falls: Some Facts to Note
The latest trading session saw Northrop Grumman (NOC) ending at $461.75, denoting a +0.19% adjustment from its last day's close. The stock outpaced the S&P 500's daily loss of 0.65%. At the same time, the Dow lost 0.49%, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq lost 0.96%.
The defense contractor's stock has climbed by 2.41% in the past month, exceeding the Aerospace sector's gain of 0.24% and lagging the S&P 500's gain of 3.27%.
The investment community will be closely monitoring the performance of Northrop Grumman in its forthcoming earnings report. The company's earnings per share (EPS) are projected to be $5.81, reflecting a 5.64% increase from the same quarter last year. Simultaneously, our latest consensus estimate expects the revenue to be $9.77 billion, showing a 5.02% escalation compared to the year-ago quarter.
Regarding the entire year, the Zacks Consensus Estimates forecast earnings of $24.66 per share and revenue of $41.09 billion, indicating changes of +5.88% and +4.59%, respectively, compared to the previous year.
Investors should also pay attention to any latest changes in analyst estimates for Northrop Grumman. These recent revisions tend to reflect the evolving nature of short-term business trends. Hence, positive alterations in estimates signify analyst optimism regarding the company's business and profitability.
Based on our research, we believe these estimate revisions are directly related to near-team stock moves. To capitalize on this, we've crafted the Zacks Rank, a unique model that incorporates these estimate changes and offers a practical rating system.
The Zacks Rank system, stretching from #1 (Strong Buy) to #5 (Strong Sell), has a noteworthy track record of outperforming, validated by third-party audits, with stocks rated #1 producing an average annual return of +25% since the year 1988. Over the past month, there's been a 0.55% rise in the Zacks Consensus EPS estimate. As of now, Northrop Grumman holds a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold).
Digging into valuation, Northrop Grumman currently has a Forward P/E ratio of 18.69. Its industry sports an average Forward P/E of 17.92, so one might conclude that Northrop Grumman is trading at a premium comparatively.
One should further note that NOC currently holds a PEG ratio of 1.85. The PEG ratio is akin to the commonly utilized P/E ratio, but this measure also incorporates the company's anticipated earnings growth rate. By the end of yesterday's trading, the Aerospace - Defense industry had an average PEG ratio of 1.92.
The Aerospace - Defense industry is part of the Aerospace sector. This industry currently has a Zacks Industry Rank of 62, which puts it in the top 25% of all 250+ industries.
The strength of our individual industry groups is measured by the Zacks Industry Rank, which is calculated based on the average Zacks Rank of the individual stocks within these 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.
Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report
Northrop Grumman Corporation (NOC) : Free Stock Analysis Report
