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Northrop Grumman (NOC) Dips More Than Broader Markets: What You Should Know

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Northrop Grumman (NOC - Free Report) closed the most recent trading day at $452.45, moving -0.77% from the previous trading session. This change lagged the S&P 500's daily loss of 0.29%. Meanwhile, the Dow lost 0.55%, and the Nasdaq, a tech-heavy index, added 1.24%.

Prior to today's trading, shares of the defense contractor had gained 0.11% over the past month. This has lagged the Aerospace sector's gain of 2.49% and the S&P 500's gain of 3.1% in that time.

Investors will be hoping for strength from Northrop Grumman as it approaches its next earnings release, which is expected to be July 27, 2023. The company is expected to report EPS of $5.31, down 12.38% from the prior-year quarter. Meanwhile, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for revenue is projecting net sales of $9.32 billion, up 5.92% from the year-ago period.

NOC's full-year Zacks Consensus Estimates are calling for earnings of $22.57 per share and revenue of $38.34 billion. These results would represent year-over-year changes of -11.63% and +4.74%, respectively.

Investors should also note any recent changes to analyst estimates for Northrop Grumman. These revisions typically reflect the latest short-term business trends, which can change frequently. As such, positive estimate revisions reflect analyst optimism about the company's business and profitability.

Based on our research, we believe these estimate revisions are directly related to near-team stock moves. We developed the Zacks Rank to capitalize on this phenomenon. Our system takes these estimate changes into account and delivers a clear, actionable rating model.

Ranging from #1 (Strong Buy) to #5 (Strong Sell), the Zacks Rank system has a proven, outside-audited track record of outperformance, with #1 stocks returning an average of +25% annually since 1988. Within the past 30 days, our consensus EPS projection remained stagnant. Northrop Grumman currently has a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold).

Valuation is also important, so investors should note that Northrop Grumman has a Forward P/E ratio of 20.21 right now. This represents a premium compared to its industry's average Forward P/E of 16.4.

We can also see that NOC currently has a PEG ratio of 5.32. This metric is used similarly to the famous P/E ratio, but the PEG ratio also takes into account the stock's expected earnings growth rate. Aerospace - Defense stocks are, on average, holding a PEG ratio of 1.82 based on yesterday's closing prices.

The Aerospace - Defense industry is part of the Aerospace sector. This group has a Zacks Industry Rank of 109, putting it in the top 44% of all 250+ industries.

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.

To follow NOC in the coming trading sessions, be sure to utilize Zacks.com.


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