Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) Sets New 52-Week Low – Should You Sell?

Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC)’s stock price hit a new 52-week low during trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as low as $479.02 and last traded at $508.87, with a volume of 335495 shares changing hands. 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 delivered a Q2 double beat, topping estimates for both EPS and revenue. Northrop Grumman (NOC) Beats Q2 Earnings and Revenue Estimates
• Positive Sentiment: The company raised its full-year 2026 EPS and revenue guidance, signaling management confidence in continued demand. Northrop Grumman raises 2026 forecasts on strong weapons demand
• Positive Sentiment: Record backlog of about $105 billion supports long-term revenue visibility and suggests sustained defense spending demand. Northrop Grumman raises 2026 outlook as backlog hits record 105B
• Neutral Sentiment: Despite the strong quarter, the stock is trading lower, suggesting investors may be taking profits or waiting for more evidence of accelerating growth.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on NOC shares. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Northrop Grumman from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, April 25th. TD Cowen reduced their price target on shares of Northrop Grumman from $680.00 to $580.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, July 13th. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price objective on shares of Northrop Grumman from $620.00 to $580.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, June 26th. UBS Group dropped their price objective on shares of Northrop Grumman from $806.00 to $745.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 23rd. Finally, Morgan Stanley set a $745.00 target price on shares of Northrop Grumman in a research note on Wednesday, July 15th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have issued a Buy rating and ten have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Northrop Grumman currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $676.29.

Northrop Grumman Stock Performance

The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $537.61 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $623.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.84, a current ratio of 1.15 and a quick ratio of 1.04. The company has a market capitalization of $72.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.96, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.53 and a beta of -0.10.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 21st. The aerospace company reported $7.68 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $6.84 by $0.84. Northrop Grumman had a net margin of 10.80% and a return on equity of 24.72%. The business had revenue of $10.88 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.80 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $8.15 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 5.1% on a year-over-year basis. Northrop Grumman has set its FY 2026 guidance at 28.600-29.100 EPS. On average, analysts predict that Northrop Grumman Corporation will post 27.95 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Northrop Grumman Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 1st were given a dividend of $2.47 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 1st. This is a positive change from Northrop Grumman’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.31. This represents a $9.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.9%. Northrop Grumman’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 30.92%.

Institutional Trading of Northrop Grumman

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Capital World Investors grew its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman by 39.4% during the fourth 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. J. Stern & Co. LLP boosted its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 56,920.9% during the fourth quarter. J. Stern & Co. LLP now owns 421,955 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $240,603,000 after buying an additional 421,215 shares during the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC boosted its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 272.8% during the fourth quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 401,664 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $229,033,000 after buying an additional 293,909 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Northrop Grumman by 1.5% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 13,740,721 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $7,835,097,000 after buying an additional 209,135 shares during the period. Finally, M&T Bank Corp grew its position in shares of Northrop Grumman by 1,086.5% during the 4th quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 192,583 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $109,813,000 after buying an additional 176,352 shares during the period. 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.