Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) Shares Gap Up – Still a Buy?

Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC)’s stock price gapped up before the market opened on Thursday . The stock had previously closed at $577.01, but opened at $617.88. Northrop Grumman shares last traded at $617.3260, with a volume of 901,231 shares changing hands.

Trending Headlines about Northrop Grumman

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

• Positive Sentiment: President Trump proposed a dramatic $1.5 trillion 2027 defense budget, which would be a major revenue tailwind for prime contractors like Northrop if enacted; the proposal is driving sector rotation into defense names. Trump proposes massive increase in 2027 defense spending to $1.5T
• Positive Sentiment: Northrop was competitively awarded the Marine Corps MUX TACAIR Collaborative Combat Aircraft (CCA) work teaming its uncrewed capabilities with Kratos’ Valkyrie UAS — a strategic win that strengthens NOC’s leadership in autonomous systems and supports future revenue/backlog. Northrop Grumman to Rapidly Develop Marine Corps CCA with Kratos’ Valkyrie UAS
• Positive Sentiment: Northrop won a ~$94.3M Navy contract for solid rocket motors (SSRM), adding near-term funded work to propulsion and ordnance programs. Northrop Grumman wins $94.3 million Navy contract for rocket motors
• Positive Sentiment: Technical/market commentary shows improved relative-strength and momentum heading into the fourth-quarter earnings season, which can attract momentum and quant-driven buyers. Northrop Grumman Rising Toward New High With Fourth Quarter Earnings Up Next
• Neutral Sentiment: Zacks issued mixed, small EPS revisions across several quarters and fiscal years (some trims, some raises), producing modest estimate noise but leaving the FY outlook broadly steady. That injects short-term uncertainty but not a large change to the longer-term consensus. MarketBeat NOC coverage (Zacks estimates)
• Negative Sentiment: President Trump signed an order and publicly said he will block buybacks/dividends for defense firms until production issues are addressed — this directly threatens a key shareholder-return mechanism for Northrop and pressured the stock. Trump signs order to block defense companies from buying back stock until arms production improves
• Negative Sentiment: Market reaction to Trump’s warnings sparked selling across defense names in after-hours and intraday trading, amplifying downside pressure on Northrop despite positive contract news. Northrop Grumman Stock Drops After Trump Warns Against Buybacks Over Investment
• Negative Sentiment: CEO Kathy Warden disclosed sales of a few thousand NOC shares in early January; while routine for executives, the timing amid policy headlines can be read negatively by some investors. SEC Form 4 — Kathy J. Warden

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have weighed in on the company. Susquehanna upped their target price on Northrop Grumman from $650.00 to $690.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 22nd. Alembic Global Advisors upgraded shares of Northrop Grumman from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $662.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Monday, December 15th. BTIG Research increased their target price on shares of Northrop Grumman from $630.00 to $680.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 22nd. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Northrop Grumman in a research note on Wednesday, December 24th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein set a $696.00 price objective on Northrop Grumman in a research note on Thursday, October 23rd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Northrop Grumman currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $651.18.

Northrop Grumman Trading Up 4.2%

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 1.11 and a quick ratio of 0.98. The company has a market capitalization of $85.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.60, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.07 and a beta of 0.05. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $569.13 and a 200 day moving average price of $570.54.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, October 21st. The aerospace company reported $7.67 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.43 by $1.24. The business had revenue of $10.42 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.68 billion. Northrop Grumman had a net margin of 9.82% and a return on equity of 25.49%. Northrop Grumman’s revenue was up 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $7.00 earnings per share. Northrop Grumman has set its FY 2025 guidance at 25.650-26.050 EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that Northrop Grumman Corporation will post 28.05 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Northrop Grumman Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, December 17th. Investors of record on Monday, December 1st were paid a $2.31 dividend. This represents a $9.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.5%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 1st. Northrop Grumman’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 33.24%.

Insider Activity at Northrop Grumman

In other news, CEO Kathy J. Warden sold 3,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 6th. The stock was 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 approximately $117,835,230. The trade was a 1.54% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Mark A. Welsh III sold 97 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $564.08, for a total value of $54,715.76. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 4,281 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,414,826.48. This trade represents a 2.22% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 10,097 shares of company stock worth $6,099,716 in the last three months. 0.23% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Northrop Grumman

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Parvin Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in Northrop Grumman during the second quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Financial Life Planners bought a new position in shares of Northrop Grumman during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $27,000. Physician Wealth Advisors Inc. lifted its position in shares of Northrop Grumman by 200.0% during the 3rd quarter. Physician Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 48 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 32 shares during the period. Hopwood Financial Services Inc. acquired a new stake in Northrop Grumman in the 3rd quarter valued at $30,000. Finally, NewSquare Capital LLC grew its position in Northrop Grumman by 75.0% in the second quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC now owns 63 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 27 shares during the period. Institutional investors 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.