Northrop Grumman (NOC) Stock Falls Amid Market Uptick: What Investors Need to Know
The latest trading session saw Northrop Grumman (NOC) ending at $456.40, denoting a -1.01% adjustment from its last day's close. The stock trailed the S&P 500, which registered a daily gain of 1.03%. Meanwhile, the Dow gained 0.34%, and the Nasdaq, a tech-heavy index, added 1.51%.
Shares of the defense contractor have appreciated by 1.58% over the course of the past month, underperforming the Aerospace sector's gain of 1.69% and the S&P 500's gain of 3.21%.
The investment community will be closely monitoring the performance of Northrop Grumman in its forthcoming earnings report. It is anticipated that the company will report an EPS of $5.81, marking a 5.64% rise compared to the same quarter of the previous year. Meanwhile, our latest consensus estimate is calling for revenue of $9.77 billion, up 5.02% from the prior-year quarter.
For the full year, the Zacks Consensus Estimates are projecting earnings of $24.65 per share and revenue of $41.09 billion, which would represent changes of +5.84% and +4.59%, respectively, from the prior year.
Investors should also pay attention to any latest changes in analyst estimates for Northrop Grumman. Such recent modifications usually signify the changing landscape 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.
Empirical research indicates that these revisions in estimates have a direct correlation with impending stock price performance. To take advantage of this, we've established the Zacks Rank, an exclusive model that considers these estimated changes and delivers an operational 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, there's been a 0.52% rise in the Zacks Consensus EPS estimate. Right now, Northrop Grumman possesses a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold).
From a valuation perspective, Northrop Grumman is currently exchanging hands at a Forward P/E ratio of 18.71. This signifies a premium in comparison to the average Forward P/E of 17.98 for its industry.
We can also see that NOC currently has a PEG ratio of 1.86. Comparable to the widely accepted P/E ratio, the PEG ratio also accounts for the company's projected earnings growth. As the market closed yesterday, the Aerospace - Defense industry was having an average PEG ratio of 1.91.
The Aerospace - Defense industry is part of the Aerospace sector. With its current Zacks Industry Rank of 89, this industry ranks in the top 36% of all industries, numbering over 250.
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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Northrop Grumman Corporation (NOC) : Free Stock Analysis Report
