Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) Hits New 1-Year Low – Here’s Why

Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC) shares reached a new 52-week low during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The company traded as low as $479.02 and last traded at $508.87, with a volume of 335495 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $523.96.

Key Stories Impacting Northrop Grumman

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

• Positive Sentiment: Northrop Grumman beat Q2 estimates, posting $7.68 EPS on $10.88 billion in revenue, and raised its 2026 sales and profit outlook. Management also highlighted record backlog and strong weapons demand, which supports the case for faster growth later in the year. Article: Reuters earnings and outlook
• Positive Sentiment: Northrop is also expanding its space and ISR opportunities, including a private robot mission to extend the life of aging satellites and a NATO-focused Airbus partnership tied to MQ-4C Triton systems. These developments point to longer-term program depth and defense demand. Article: Fortune space robot mission
• Positive Sentiment: UBS raised its price target to $685 and kept a buy rating, implying meaningful upside from current levels despite recent weakness. Article: UBS price target update
• Neutral Sentiment: TD Cowen cut its price target to $550 and kept a hold rating. That still suggests only modest upside, signaling that some analysts think the recent rally may be limited near term. Article: TD Cowen price target update

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently weighed in on the company. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price objective on Northrop Grumman from $620.00 to $580.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Friday, June 26th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $615.00 target price on shares of Northrop Grumman in a report on Wednesday. Susquehanna reduced their price target on shares of Northrop Grumman from $785.00 to $655.00 and set a “positive” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Northrop Grumman from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, April 25th. Finally, Raymond James Financial reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Northrop Grumman in a research report on Monday, June 15th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have issued a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $657.14.

Northrop Grumman Stock Up 2.6%

The stock has a market capitalization of $74.64 billion, a PE ratio of 16.69, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.36 and a beta of -0.10. The company has a current ratio of 1.17, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.81. The company’s 50-day moving average is $536.10 and its 200 day moving average is $623.03.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 21st. The aerospace company reported $7.68 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.82 by $0.86. The business had revenue of $10.88 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $10.80 billion. Northrop Grumman had a net margin of 10.48% and a return on equity of 24.25%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 5.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $8.15 earnings per share. Northrop Grumman has set its FY 2026 guidance at 28.600-29.100 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that Northrop Grumman Corporation will post 28.85 EPS for the current year.

Northrop Grumman Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 1st were given a dividend of $2.47 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 1st. This represents a $9.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.9%. This is an increase from Northrop Grumman’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.31. Northrop Grumman’s payout ratio is presently 31.39%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Northrop Grumman

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman by 1.5% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 13,740,721 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $7,835,097,000 after acquiring an additional 209,135 shares during the period. Capital World Investors grew its position in Northrop Grumman by 39.4% during the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 3,434,041 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $1,958,151,000 after purchasing an additional 970,029 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,149,478 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $1,793,478,000 after buying an additional 17,948 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman by 4.3% in the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 3,125,139 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $1,781,986,000 after buying an additional 128,855 shares during the period. Finally, Invesco Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman by 3.9% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,666,517 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $950,265,000 after buying an additional 62,817 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.40% of the company’s stock.

Northrop Grumman Company Profile

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.