Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) Issues FY 2026 Earnings Guidance

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) updated its FY 2026 earnings guidance on Tuesday. The company provided earnings per share guidance of 27.400-27.900 for the period, compared to the consensus earnings per share estimate of 28.820. The company issued revenue guidance of $43.5 billion-$44.0 billion, compared to the consensus revenue estimate of $44.1 billion.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

NOC has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. BNP Paribas Exane began coverage on shares of Northrop Grumman in a research note on Tuesday, November 18th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $710.00 target price for the company. Sanford C. Bernstein reaffirmed a “market perform” rating and issued a $727.00 price target on shares of Northrop Grumman in a report on Monday, January 12th. Truist Financial reissued a “hold” rating and set a $623.00 target price (down previously from $688.00) on shares of Northrop Grumman in a report on Friday, January 9th. BTIG Research boosted their target price on shares of Northrop Grumman from $630.00 to $680.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 22nd. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $700.00 price objective on shares of Northrop Grumman and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have given a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Northrop Grumman presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $656.82.

Northrop Grumman Stock Performance

Northrop Grumman stock opened at $653.19 on Tuesday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $589.86 and a 200-day simple moving average of $584.59. The stock has a market cap of $93.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.73, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.46 and a beta of 0.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 1.11 and a quick ratio of 0.98. Northrop Grumman has a 1-year low of $426.24 and a 1-year high of $677.30.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 27th. The aerospace company reported $7.23 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $6.97 by $0.26. Northrop Grumman had a return on equity of 25.49% and a net margin of 9.82%.The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $6.39 earnings per share. Northrop Grumman has set its FY 2026 guidance at 27.400-27.900 EPS. On average, analysts expect that Northrop Grumman will post 28.05 EPS for the current year.

Northrop Grumman Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, December 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 1st were paid a $2.31 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 1st. This represents a $9.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.4%. Northrop Grumman’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 33.24%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Northrop Grumman news, CEO Kathy J. Warden sold 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $615.00, for a total transaction of $1,845,000.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 191,602 shares in the company, valued at $117,835,230. This represents a 1.54% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director Mark A. Welsh III sold 97 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, November 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $564.08, for a total value of $54,715.76. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 4,281 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,414,826.48. The trade was a 2.22% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 10,097 shares of company stock worth $6,099,716. 0.23% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Key Northrop Grumman News

Here are the key news stories impacting Northrop Grumman this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Q4 results: NOC reported revenue of $11.7B (+9.6% YoY) with diluted EPS $9.99, well above estimates, and materially stronger gross and operating profit—this beat on EPS with revenue roughly in line is the primary near‑term bullish catalyst. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Geopolitical tailwind: Reuters highlights higher quarterly profit and revenue driven by strong aeronautics sales amid heightened geopolitical uncertainty—demand strength in defense end markets supports forward revenue visibility. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst and target support: Multiple recent buy/positive analyst calls and elevated price targets (median ~$693; some targets notably higher) give upside to the stock as Street estimates get re‑priced after the beat. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Earnings call / guidance watch: Management will host a webcast at 9:30 a.m. ET — investors will focus on 2026 guidance, margin drivers, and program timing for additional directional cues. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Sector context: Coverage notes defense peers (e.g., RTX) diverged in the same earnings week — NOC’s outperformance could be company‑specific (aeronautics mix) rather than a universal sector move. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Insider selling: Recent disclosures show multiple insider sales (including CEO sales) and no reported insider purchases over the past six months, which can be perceived as a cautionary signal by some investors. Article Title

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Captrust Financial Advisors lifted its position in Northrop Grumman by 1.6% in the third quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 25,002 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $15,234,000 after purchasing an additional 401 shares during the period. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman by 8.6% in the 3rd quarter. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. now owns 3,010 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $1,834,000 after buying an additional 239 shares during the period. Danske Bank A S purchased a new stake in shares of Northrop Grumman in the third quarter valued at approximately $20,743,000. San Luis Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 6.4% during the third quarter. San Luis Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 550 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $335,000 after acquiring an additional 33 shares during the period. Finally, Harvest Investment Services LLC purchased a new position in Northrop Grumman in the third quarter worth $221,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.40% of the company’s stock.

About Northrop Grumman

Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE: NOC) is a leading U.S.-based aerospace and defense company that designs, builds and sustains advanced systems, products and technologies for government and commercial customers. Formed through the combination of Northrop and Grumman businesses in the 1990s, the company’s portfolio spans manned and unmanned aircraft, space systems, missile defense, radar and sensor systems, and integrated command, control, communications, computers, intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (C4ISR) solutions.

The company’s work includes airframe and platform manufacturing, space hardware and satellite systems, advanced mission systems and cybersecurity services, as well as logistics, sustainment and modernization programs.